Handover of Jayalalithaa's Possessions Begins!

The process of handing over the assets, gold jewelry, and valuable belongings of the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to the Tamil Nadu government began on Friday. As per court orders, Tamil Nadu police and officials arrived in Bengaluru, Karnataka, to take possession of her belongings.

The items include property documents, 11,344 silk sarees, 750 pairs of footwear, watches, 7,040 grams of gold and diamond jewelry consisting of 468 varieties, 700 kg of silver ornaments, 250 shawls, 12 refrigerators, 10 television sets, 8 VCRs, a video camera, 4 CD players, 2 audio decks, 24 two-in-one tape recorders, 1,040 video cassettes, and 3 iron lockers, among other valuables. Karnataka officials are handing them over to Tamil Nadu authorities in the presence of a judge, with tight security arrangements in place. The process is expected to be completed in two days.

Earlier, individuals named Deepa and Deepak, claiming to be Jayalalithaa's relatives, had approached the Karnataka Special Court seeking possession of her jewelry and belongings. However, the special court dismissed their petition, ruling that all assets belonged to the Tamil Nadu government. Accordingly, on February 19, 2024, the court issued orders for the handover.

It also advised the Tamil Nadu government to form an official team to take possession of the assets on March 6 and 7, 2024. However, Deepa and Deepak challenged the special court’s order in the Karnataka High Court, which imposed a stay on the process on March 5, 2023. Later, the High Court dismissed their petition, allowing the handover to proceed as per the special court’s orders.

Jayalalithaa was convicted in a disproportionate assets case on September 27, 2014, by a special court, which sentenced her to four years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 100 crore.