Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has been found guilty in the 18-year-old disproportionate assets case, in a massive blow to her and her party. Violence has broken out in several areas of Tamil Nadu.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? Jayalalithaa Faces Jail, Has to Step Down as CM
5.00 pm: The court has announced a jail term of four years to Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case, and has slapped as fine of ₹ 100 crore.
3.45 pm: Reports are emerging of some AIADMK supporters trying to commit suicide by self-immolation in parts of Tamil Nadu.
3. 30 pm: The quantum of sentence will be announced soon.
3.00 pm: Violence has broken out in several parts of Tamil Nadu, with angry AIADMK workers reaching outside DMK chief K Karunanidhi's house and resorting to stone-pelting. A similar scene outside BJP leader Subramanium Swamy's house.
Several women supporters of Jayalalithaa were seen crying on visuals on news channels.
According to reports, public buses have been set ablaze by protestors in several areas of Tamil nadu.
2. 22 pm: The verdict is out. Jayalalitha has been convicted in the disproportionate assets case under the Prevention of Corruption Act. She will have to step down as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
2.00 pm: The verdict has been deferred till 3 pm as Jayalalithaa has told the court that the case is politically motivated, and intended to harass her, as reported by The Indian Express. She also said that she is suffering from health problems.
12. 45 pm: The situation is tense as the verdict is expected in a few minutes. AIADMK activists burnt effigies of DMK leader Karunanidhi in Chennai.
11: 45 am: The judgement has been postponed to 1:00 pm
11: 40 am: MK Stalin meets DMK chief M Karunanidhi in Chennai
11: 30 am: AIADMK workers have been lathicharged by the police, as per television reports, as they protest outside the Bangalore court
10:45 am: Jayalalithaa reaches Bangalore court amid tight security. The court premises have been fortified with multi-layer security cover.
If convicted , Jayalalithaa faces up to seven years in jail. She will have to step down as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
10: 30 am: AIADMK Party workers have already assembled outside the makeshift court created at Bangalore central prison at Parappana Agrahara on the outskirts of Bangalore city, where Special Court Judge Michael Dicunha will be delivering the verdict by noon on Saturday.
As Jayalalithaa Graft Case Verdict Looms, Bangalore on Edge
10:00 am: Bangalore has turned into a fortress as a city court is set to pronounce the verdict in the disproportionate assets case against Tamil nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa who has been charged with accumulating disproportionatewealth ₹ Rs 66.65 crore during her first term as CM.
2,000 security personnel have been deployed in and around the central jail and about 5,000 additional forces have been positioned across the city to maintain law and order and ensure peace, Additional Commissioner of Police Alok Kumar told IANS.
The Supreme Court on Friday declined a plea to defer pronouncement of the verdict in the case after her lawyer alleged that there would be law and order problem after the pronouncement of the verdict.
Jayalalithaa faces charges in an 18-year-old corruption case filed by the Tamil Nadu police against her, accusing her of acquiring disproportionate ₹ 66.65 crore worth of assets by corrupt means between 1991 and 1996 when she was chief minister in her first term.
With authorities fearing violent protests in case of a negative verdict against Jayalalithaa, security has been tightened in the city, and the police have imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC in the vicinity of the court "to prevent any public disorder and loss of public property", as reported by Hindustan Times.
