Jayalalithaa’s relatives summoned by Madras HC over property case

Madras High Court Justices N. Kirubakaran and Abdul Quddhose has summoned former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s niece J. Deepa and nephew J. Deepak to the court, asked the petitioners’ counsel L. Sudarsanam and D. Saikumaran to make sure that their clients were present in the court on Friday. The duo had sought for a LoA only after two AIADMK members K. Pugazhenthi and P. Janakiraman had filed a similar case in the court. During the course of a joint hearing on Tuesday, Mr. Sudarsanam told the Division Bench that Jayalalithaa’s residence Veda Nilayam at Poes Garden here was now under the control of the Chennai Collector who had sealed the premises and had initiated acquisition proceedings for converting it into a memorial. It was claimed that Mr. Deepak had stayed at Veda Nilayam for about a fortnight after her death to complete the rituals but had to move out following the political developments in the State. When the judges wanted to know whether all materials, things inside the house were intact, the counsel replied in the affirmative.
He also said that the former CM owned a property in Hyderabad and let it out to United Breweries. He was unaware as to who was collecting the rent for that property. Though Mr. Deepak and his sister applied for a legal heirship certificate within six months of their aunt’s death, the Guindy Tahsildar refused to issue it, he claimed. The counsel said that the Tahsildar had asked them to obtain a lower court order for issuance of legal heirship certificate since they claimed to be class II legal heirs. It was only after that Mr. Deepak had chosen to file a civil case in the High Court seeking LoA under the Indian Succession Act of 1925. Undertaking to settle all debts of his aunt, he claimed that it appeared as if 40 crore was due to the Income Tax department and another 20 crore towards a bank loan which she had availed on August 3, 1996.
Meanwhile, A.P. Srinivas, senior standing counsel for Income Tax department, informed the court that it would not be possible for it to assess the value of Jayalalithaa’s properties as directed by the court during the last hearing since they were short of hands and only three surveyors were available. The judges adjourned the hearing to Friday.