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Indian Court Denies Bail to Politician Appealing Corruption Conviction Indian Court Denies Bail to Politician Appealing Corruption Conviction
(about 3 hours later)
NEW DELHI — A high court judge refused to grant bail to Jayalalithaa Jayaram, the longtime chief minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, noting in his ruling on Tuesday that India’s Supreme Court is taking a tougher view of corruption, interpreting it as “a violation of human rights.”NEW DELHI — A high court judge refused to grant bail to Jayalalithaa Jayaram, the longtime chief minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, noting in his ruling on Tuesday that India’s Supreme Court is taking a tougher view of corruption, interpreting it as “a violation of human rights.”
Ms. Jayaram, an enormously popular leader, was sentenced late last month to four years in prison on charges that she illegally enriched herself during the first of her three terms as chief minister. Her lawyers had argued for her sentence to be suspended pending her appeal.Ms. Jayaram, an enormously popular leader, was sentenced late last month to four years in prison on charges that she illegally enriched herself during the first of her three terms as chief minister. Her lawyers had argued for her sentence to be suspended pending her appeal.
Ms. Jayaram’s conviction shook her political organization and cast her followers, who call her Amma, or Mother, into despair, with some going on hunger strikes or shaving their heads in a sign of mourning. The police also attributed a number of suicides, including poisonings and self-immolations to distress over the verdict. Ms. Jayaram’s conviction shook her political organization and cast her followers, who call her Amma, or Mother, into despair, with some going on hunger strikes or shaving their heads in a sign of mourning. The police also attributed a number of suicides, including poisonings and self-immolations, to distress over the verdict.
Though the trial was moved to the neighboring state of Karnataka, a crowd of supporters from Tamil Nadu has been camping since late September outside the prison where she is being held. They erupted in boisterous celebration on Tuesday, setting off firecrackers and distributing sweets, when the prosecutor in the case told the Karnataka High Court that he had no objection to granting her bail. Though the trial was moved to the neighboring state of Karnataka, a crowd of supporters from Tamil Nadu has been camping since late September outside the prison where Ms. Jayaram is being held. They erupted in boisterous celebration on Tuesday, setting off firecrackers and distributing sweets, when the prosecutor in the case told the Karnataka High Court that he had no objection to granting her bail.
The jubilation was doused abruptly when the judge refused to do so.The jubilation was doused abruptly when the judge refused to do so.
“The Supreme Court has clearly indicated that corruption violates human rights and leads to economic imbalance,” said the judge, A.V. Chandrashekar, according to The Associated Press. As word filtered out through the crowd, women collapsed weeping into one another’s arms. “The honorable Supreme Court has held that corruption violates human rights,” the judge, A.V. Chandrashekara, wrote in his ruling. “It is further held that systematic corruption is violation of human rights as it leads to economic crisis.”
O. Panneerselvam, a loyal lieutenant of Ms. Jayaram’s who has stepped in as chief minister, released a statement appealing to party members to refrain from strikes or riots. “Keeping calm is the only way to express love for Jayalalithaa,” he said. The decision goes on to say that the court “has, over a period, been adding new dimension to the approach to be adopted towards the public servants involved in cases of corruption.”
O. Panneerselvam, a loyal lieutenant of Ms. Jayaram’s who has stepped in as chief minister, released a statement appealing to party members to refrain from public disturbances. “Do not indulge in closure and strike, Jayalalithaa doesn’t like these,” he said, according to NDTV, a news channel. “Keeping calm is the only way to express love for Jayalalithaa,” he said.