The ruling follows a protracted court battle over asset ownership.
In a case involving disproportionate assets, a special court in Bengaluru has ruled that the Tamil Nadu government receive the items that were seized from former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The dates of the handover are set for February 14 and February 15.
Judge HA Mohan of the Special Court for CBI and Enforcement Directorate cases has reportedly ordered Tamil Nadu government representatives to appear in court on these days so that the things can be seized, according to the Hindu story.
After a lengthy legal dispute about who owned the assets seized during the case’s investigation, the decision was made.
A court lawsuit has been pending over the confiscated property for several years. In July 2023, J Deepa and J Deepak, Jayalalithaa’s niece and nephew, claimed the goods as her real heirs, but the special court denied their claims.
The court determined that the assets seized in the corruption case were rightfully the Tamil Nadu government’s property, the story added.
The court responded to this ruling by initially setting the asset transfer for March 2024. After Deepa and Deepak challenged the order in the Karnataka High Court, the transfer process was temporarily put on hold.
The Karnataka High Court upheld the special court’s ruling on January 13, 2025, by dismissing their applications, the article claimed. The Tamil Nadu government shall receive the seized goods, which were a part of the case in which Jayalalithaa was found guilty after his death, the court decided. This decision has eliminated all legal barriers to the transfer.
Case background
The case against Jayalalithaa and her close associate VK Sasikala for disproportionate assets began in the 1990s. After the investigation turned up assets that significantly outstripped their known revenue streams, the legal battle raged for more than 20 years. While Jayalalithaa was found guilty posthumously, Sasikala and others’ convictions were affirmed by the Supreme Court in 2017.