Bengaluru: A special court in Bengaluru ruled that valuable jewellery, worth crores, seized during the disproportionate assets case against the late former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, J Jayalalithaa should be returned to the Tamil Nadu government. The court also ordered that the Tamil Nadu government must pay ₹5 crore in compensation to Karnataka for the expenses incurred in conducting the disproportionate assets case.

The trial had been conducted in Karnataka as per the Supreme Court’s directive, leading to all relevant evidence being currently held in the Karnataka treasury under the court’s custody.

Judge H A Mohan, presiding over the 32 additional city civil and sessions court, gave the order after hearing a plea filed by RTI activist T Narasimha Murthy seeking compensation for the amount spent by the Karnataka government in the disproportionate assets case through the auction of items seized from Jayalalithaa.

The court rejected a plea seeking the auction of jewellery seized from Jayalalithaa during the investigation of the case. Instead, it directed the transfer of these confiscated valuables to the government of Tamil Nadu. The responsibility for further action, including the disposal of the gold and diamond jewellery considered as material evidence in the disproportionate assets case, was placed on the Tamil Nadu Government.

“Instead of auctioning the jewels, it is better to transfer the same to Tamil Nadu by handing over the same through the Department of Home, State of Tamil Nadu,” said the special court judge.

The court had earlier held that the family of Jayalalithaa were not entitled to the properties which are confiscated by the State. The special CBI court had thus rejected the petition filed by J Deepa and J Deepak, the niece and nephew of Jayalalithaa, respectively.

The court then issued the direction that the Tamil Nadu Home Department authorise “competent persons preferably in the rank of secretary along with police to come and collect the jewels.”

On September 27, 2014, a special court in Bengaluru had sentenced Jayalalithaa to four years in jail and fined her ₹100 crore in connection with a disproportionate assets case. It had also directed that Jayalalitha’s seized valuables should be sold to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or State Bank of India (SBI) through public auction. It was directed that the proceeds should be adjusted to the fine amount. This prompted Murthy’s plea before the special court.

(With PTI inputs)