Jayalalithaa spent Rs 3 crore on Sudhakaran's wedding: Special court Sudhakaran's marriage, dubbed as 'mother of all weddings' was held in 1995 when Jayalalithaa was Chief Minister

PTI, Bangalore October 4, 2014: Holding that it was AIADMK & supremo Jayalalithaa who had paid for the arrangements for the lavish marriage of her now estranged foster son V N Sudhakaran, the special court in the disproportionate assets case against her pegged the expenses incurred by her at Rs three crore.

Sudhakaran's marriage, dubbed as 'mother of all weddings' was held in 1995 when Jayalalithaa was Chief Minister and had raised a huge controversy, inviting public criticism for ostentation, protests and petitions to court.

"It is established in evidence that huge amount was spent towards the printing of invitation, publication of thanks in the dailies, 'tamboolam' and valuable presents given to the guests, all of which would certainly entail an expense of more than Rs three crores even by modest and conservative estimation," Special Judge John Michael D' Cunha said.

"Taking into consideration all the above facts and circumstances, a sum of Rs three crores is taken as the expenses incurred by A-1 (Jayalalithaa) towards arrangement for the marriage of A-3 (Sudhakaran)," he said rejecting their contention that the expenses were met by the bride's family.

The judge noted that oral and documentary evidence produced by the accused in support of their defence is 'replete with the inconsistencies and irreconcilable contradictions'.

The evidence indicates that the arrangements were sponsored by Jayalalithaa and at her instance all the arrangements were made and even the payment was made by her, he said.

The prosecution had come up with the case that over Rs six crore was spent for the marriage.

Jayalalithaa moves HC against conviction, seeks bail

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha has been found guilty in an 18-year-old disproportionate assets case by a Special Court in Bangalore, and sentenced to four years in jail, besides a Rs 100 crore fine. The sentencing is expected later in the day. Here's a quick rundown of what the case is all about. 

1. The case has been going on for the past 18 years, going back to 1996 when friend-turned-foe Dr Subramanian Swamy filed a complaint against J Jayalalithaa, who was out of power at the time, alleging corruption and accumulation of assets disproportionate to her known sources of income. 
2. The government at the time was Jayalalithaa’s arch-rival Karunanidhi’s DMK party, which directed the Vigilance department to file an FIR against the former chief minister based on a police investigation instigated by Swamy’s private complaint. Jayalalithaais accused of acquiring at least Rs 66.65 crore in assets that could not be explained by her known income. Later the same year, a Chennai court added the names of her close aide Sasikala, foster son Sudhakaran and another aide Ilavarasi, to the case. 
3. Shortly after Jayalalithaa came back to power in 2002, the DMK moved the Supreme Court in early 2003 requesting the case be moved out of the state so that a fair trial could be had. The apex court agreed to the request and transferred the trial to a Special Court in Bangalore, with the damning observation that a ‘fair trial was not going on’ in the Chennai courts. B V Acharya was appointed named Special Public Prosecutor. The case dragged on in the court through 2011, when Jayalalithaa was again elected CM after a five-year break in power when the DMK was back in the saddle. 
4. In 2012, G Bhavani Singh replaced Acharya as Special Public Prosecutor, but was removed after Anbhazhagan, who had filed the original request for a special court, questioned the appointment. Singh, in turn, challenged the Karnataka government’s decision in the Supreme Court and was reinstated. Shortly after, the special court judge Balakrishna retired, and John Michael Cunha took his place.
5. The trial finally concludes on August 28, 2014, an agonising 18 years after it was first filed. On September 27, 2014, the special court found Jayalalithaa guilty of corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act and sentenced her to four years in jail and a Rs 100 crore fine. This also means that will have to resign as CM immediately under new guidelines for elected officials. She will also have to resign as an MLA and will be barred from contesting elections for the next 10 years, unless the conviction is overturned by a higher court. The verdict could have long-term impact on Tamil Nadu, since Jayalalithaa has not groomed a viable successor.