Jaya property dispute far from blowing over

The judgment could end up being the starting point for many more litigations

The Madras High Court’s judgment declaring former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s nephew J. Deepak and niece J. Deepa as her legal heirs could possibly end up being the starting point for many more litigations to come in the future than putting matters to rest once and for all.

Justices N. Kirubakaran and Abdul Quddhose on Wednesday declared the siblings to be inheritors of her properties since it was claimed that they could not trace any Will despite diligent efforts to ascertain if there was any. However, in the same breath, the siblings had conceded before the court that they had no access to the residence of their aunt either during her lifetime or after that.

Since Jayalalithaa’s close aide V.K. Sasikala, now convicted in a disproportionate assets case, was the only person who had resided along with her at Veda Nilayam, the Poes Garden residence, any claim in the future regarding the existence of a reported Will might turn the tables and bring about a new twist to the issue.

Even otherwise, there were many complications in assessing the properties left behind by Jayalalithaa. The siblings had staked claim strictly going by the assets declared by her when she contested the Assembly elections in 2016 and those that had been listed by a trial court which convicted her in a disproportionate assets case in 2014.

Value of properties

Though the value of those properties acquired between 1991 and 1996 was just ₹58.02 crore as per the trial court verdict, the siblings in their valuation report claimed that the properties would now be worth ₹188.48 crore. This figure was still low when compared to another report submitted by two AIADMK functionaries who had valued the properties at ₹913.41 crore.

Besides all this, a startling claim made by Sasikala in December last that the sprawling Kodanad Estate was no more a partnership firm and that she had become its sole proprietrix might end up putting spokes in the way of the siblings in claiming right over that property.

Sasikala had made the claim in response to a notice issued to her by the Income Tax department.

Then, through a series of exclusive reports, The Hindu revealed Sasikala’s claim that she was a partner in Kodanad Estate, Royal Valley Floritech Exports, Green T Estate, Sri Jaya Publications and Sasi Enterprises only till Jayalalithaa’s death on December 5, 2016, when the partnership firms reportedly stood dissolved and she became a proprietrix.

Adding to these confusions is a recent Ordinance promulgated by the State government to acquire Veda Nilayam and convert it into a memorial. Now that the siblings had inherited the property through court orders, they would have the option of opposing either the acquisition itself or at least the quantum of compensation and taking the matter to the court of law.

Expressing dismay over personal issues of a former Chief Minister having been dragged to court, Justice Kirubakaran, in his verdict, said, the very fact that the people of the State chose to make Jayalalithaa their Chief Minister on four occasions was enough proof for her strong leadership qualities and enchanting charisma. [She was sworn in CM six times — twice after being unseated by court verdicts.]

“When such was her success on the political front, very unfortunately on the personal side, this court has to deal with the issue of legal heirs who are entitled to inherit the estate left behind by the deceased Dr. J. Jayalalithaa.”