It’s curtains for I-T case against Jaya

CHENNAI: It will be one court battle less for former chief minister J Jayalalithaa, as an economic offences court in Chennai on Thursday closed the income tax case against her and her friend N Sasikalaa as 'withdrawn'. The closure comes after the duo agreed to settle the 18-year-old case out-of-court by paying about Rs 2 crore in compounding fee and fine.

On Thursday, senior special public prosecutor for the income tax department K Ramasamy filed a petition before additional chief metropolitan magistrate court (economic offences) judge R Dakshnamoorthy, saying that the department had settled/compounded the offence of non-filing of returns by Jayalalithaa and Sasikalaa, and hence it be permitted to withdraw the case.

After perusing the orders passed by the director general of income tax (investigation), Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, dated December 26, 2014, the judge said: "The case against the accused is dismissed as withdrawn under Section 321 of the CrPC. The accused are discharged from the charges."

The income tax department had filed a criminal case against erstwhile Sasi Enterprises and its partners — Jayalalithaa and N Sasikalaa— for their wilful failure to file returns for two consecutive years (1991-92 and 1992-93) during the AIADMK chief's first tenure as chief minister.

The long-drawn litigation, which witnessed more than 100 adjournments, umpteen petitions and several rounds of cases in the trial court, high court and the Supreme Court, picked up momentum after the Supreme Court on January 30, 2014 directed the economic offences court to complete the trial within four months. By another order, the apex court extended the date till September 6, 2014. On July 30, the duo filed compounding petitions before the I-T department to settle the litigation out of court.

They paid Rs 1,99,93,061 to the I-T department on November 27, after its regional compounding committee decided to accept their requests for compounding the offences on November 26.

On Thursday, senior prosecutor Ramasamy filed a formal petition before the judge saying: "It is most respectfully prayed that this court grant permission for the complainant (I-T department) to withdraw from prosecution and not to pursue the prosecution proceedings any further against the accused, since the offence under Section 276(c ) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 has been compounded by the director-general of income tax (investigation), Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, by an order dated December 26, 2014, which is submitted before this court."

Now that the I-T returns case is behind her, only two more cases are staring at Jayalalithaa - the disproportionate assets case appeal pending before the Karnataka high court and the Rs 3-crore birthday gifts case investigated by the CBI.

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