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Jaya to be charged in SPIC case on Dec 26

A special judge Friday directed former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha, industrialist A C Muthiah and a former IAS officer to appear before him on December 26 for framing of charges against them in the Rs 283 million SPIC disinvestment case.

Special Judge A C Arumugaperumal Adityan, who refused to discharge Muthiah and former director of Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation C Ramachandran from the case Wednesday, fixed December 26 for framing of charges.

While their discharge petitions had been dismissed, Jayalalitha has not filed one seeking discharge from the case, as her petition challenging the special court's jurisdiction to try the SPIC case is pending in the Madras High Court.

According to the chargesheet filed by the CBI in August last year, Jayalalitha, Ramachandran, industrialist M A Chidambaram (since deceased) and Muthiah, then vice-president and president of Southern Petro-Chemical Industries Corporation allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy in the appointment of SPIC chairman and renunciation of rights of TIDCO to zero conversion bonds in SPIC in favour of late Chidambaram for a nominal price.

The CBI had charged Jayalalitha and Ramachandran with abusing their position as public servants in 1992 to help the late Chidambaram become SPIC chairman by reversing an earlier Tamil Nadu government decision to appoint its own nominee as SPIC chairman in view of TIDCO's 26 per cent stake in the company.

TIDCO's renouncement of its right to invest in the zero conversion bond issue reduced its share in SPIC. The renouncement at a very low price of Rs 123 million, against the advantageous price of Rs 406 million, had resulted in a loss of about Rs 283 million to the state exchequer, the agency contended.

The CBI has charged them under Sec. 120-B IPC (criminal conspiracy) read with Sec.13(2) read with 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and specific offences under sec 13(2) read with sec 13(1)(d) of PCA and sec.109 IPC (abetment) read with sec. 13(2) read with sec.13(1)(d) of the PCA.

In December 1997, a single judge of the Madras High Court, acting on a writ petition filed by Janata Party president, Dr Subramanian Swamy, challenging the decision of the Jayalalitha government to renounce its stake in SPIC, had ordered a CBI probe and directed Jayalalitha, Ramachandran and Muthiah to pay the state Rs 283 million representing the loss suffered by Tamil Nadu due to the renunciation.

He had also directed the CBI to file its chargesheet with the special court, set up by the state government to try cases of corruption during the AIADMK supremo's tenure as chief minister between 1991 and 1996.

Jayalalitha has, however, challenged the jurisdiction of the special court to try the case, contending that it was not in the original list of cases to be tried by the three courts set up by the Tamil Nadu government.

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