CHENNAI, NOV 3: The Madras High Court on Friday suspended prison terms of three years rigorous imprisonment and two years rigorous imprisonment imposed on former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalitha, her close friend Sasikala Natarajan and four others by a special judge in two TANSI land deal cases.Suspending the sentences on appeals filed by the AIADMK supremo and the others, Justice B Akbar Basha Kadri also granted bail to them after they furnished personal bonds of Rs 50,000 each with two sureties each for the like amounts.Directing the appellants to get the appeals ready for hearing within two months, the judge said the prosecution would be at liberty to move for cancellation of bail if the appellants were found delaying the appeals.The appellants, besides Jayalalitha and Sasikala, are former Managing Director of the state-owned Tamil Nadu Small Industries Corporation (TANSI) T R Srinivasan, former Rural Industries Minister Mohammad Asif, special deputy collector (stamps) S Nagarajan and R Karpoorasundara Pandian, who was additional secretary to then chief minister.The appellants were convicted for corrupt practices in the purchase of land and buildings belonging to TANSI by Jaya Publications, a firm in which the former chief minister and Sasikala were partners and sentenced to three years RI each.They were also convicted and awarded jail terms of two years each in another case pertaining to purchase of TANSI property by Sasi Enterprises a company in which Jayalalitha and Sasikala were partners. Asif was acquitted in the case.They were convicted for conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.In their appeals, they contended that the October 9 judgement of the trial Judge P Anbazhagan was incorrect, contrary to law, weight of evidence and the probabilities of the case and prayed that it be set aside.Jayalalitha and Sasikala had stated that the court was wrong in believing the version of the Crime Branch-CID of the state police and had totally failed to consider legal issues which were in their favour. If the court had properly appreciated the case it could have recorded their innocence and acquitted them.According to the prosecution, the State had suffered a loss of about Rs 4.16 crore on account of the property having been purchased in 1992 well below the prevailing market rates and the consequent reduction in stamp duty.
