The Supreme Court on Monday struck down the appointment of Special Public Prosecutor Bhavani Singh and declared that the interference of the Tamil Nadu government in his appointment was a manifestation of the government's "anxiety" about the future. The court held that Karnataka is the sole prosecuting agency in the pending appeals filed by the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, and three others against their conviction in the Rs. 66 crore disproportionate assets case.

A three-judge Bench, led by Justice Dipak Misra, directed the Karnataka government to file its written submissions by April 28 in the Karnataka High Court where the appeals are pending.

The Bench further directed the High Court judge to take no heed of the arguments made by Mr. Singh.

Jayalalithaa wealth case: Timeline of events

It, however, dismissed any need for having a fresh hearing of the appeals.

Justice Misra, reading out the judgment, reasoned that the proceedings so far held cannot be "abandoned solely because there was no proper assistance" from the prosecution. He observed that for the High Court judge "the filament of reasoning will naturally flow from a dispassionate viewing of the evidence".

Justice Misra read out from the verdict in the open court, "We have not agreed with Justice Madan Lokur. There is no justification for fresh hearing, especially when the appeals have been heard at length and judgment is reserved. "

Asking the High Court judge to be vigilant about the "corroding effect of corruption" and the "gravity of the offence" against the accused in this case, the Bench said it was the duty of the judge to make a "complete and comprehensive evaluation and appreciation of the evidence in its entirety before renedering his judgment".

The Bench advised the High Court to "dispassionately render a judgment which is objectively and resolutely expressed".

The Bench was delivering the verdict on a reference made to it following a stalemate reached by an earlier Bench led by Justice Lokur on whether Mr. Singh had the authority to act as prosecutor in the appeals.

The Supreme Court, while extending Ms. Jayalalithaa's bail, gave the Karnataka High Court time till may 12 to deliver its judgment on the appeals.

The case pertains to disproportionate assets to the tune of over Rs. 65 crore allegedly amassed by the accused during Ms. Jayalalithaa's first tenure as Chief Minister during 1991-96.

The controversy

The Karnataka government appointed senior lawyer Bhavani Singh in February 2013 as the Special Public Prosecutor replacing B.V.Acharya, who cited suffering at the hands of ‘interested parties’. The appointment of the SPP was challenged by DMK leader K.Anbazhagan on the grounds that the accused was in collusion with the Special Public Prosecutor.

The Karnataka HC had rejected the plea after which the DMK general secretary challenged the Supreme Court over the appointment. Former Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa argued that the Mr. Anbazhagan’s plea was not ‘genuine’.