New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday directed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to appear before a Bangalore court on Oct 20 to record her statement in a disproportionate assets case.
Jayalalithaa faces charges for accumulating wealth disproportionate to known sources of her income during her tenure as the chief minister from 1991 to 1996.
As senior counsel Harish Salve sought four weeks` time for her to appear before the Bangalore court, the apex court bench of Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Deepak Verma asked her to appear before the court Oct 20.
The case was transferred from Chennai to Bangalore.
Jayalalithaa had moved the Supreme Court saying that she should be exempted from appearing before the trial court. She cited her new status as the chief minister and security considerations as grounds for exemption from personal appearance.
At one stage, Jayalalithaa even offered to get her statement recorded through video-conferencing.
The trial court has been asked to ensure adequate security when she appears before it.
The apex court also directed the Karnataka government to take similar measures.
During the last hearing Sep 5, the apex court observed that Jayalalithaa was adopting tactics to delay the proceedings.
The judges said there were a series of apex court judgments that said that accused must appear before the trial court.
IANS
