Bangalore: Making her first appearance in the trial of the 15-year-old disproportionate case against her, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday deposed before a special court here in a closed door hearing amid tight security.
The deposition by Jayalalithaa, who has been accused of massing assets worth Rs 66 crore disproportionate to her income, was inconclusive and will resume tomorrow, her counsel said after about five-hour proceedings.
Her statement was recorded before special court judge B M Mallikarjunaiah in a make-shift court close to Parappana Agrahara central jail premises on the city outskirts that was virtually turned into a fortress.
Jayalalithaa faced 379 questions and she answered them “precisely and properly,” B Kumar, her senior counsel, said. An equal number of questions will be posed to her tommorow, he said.
The questions were based on the circumstances mentioned by the prosecution in evidence statements of witnesses, he told reporters.
Only 15 people were in the court hall, including the judge and four accused — Jayalalithaa, her close confidante Sasikala Natarajan, Sasikala’s nephew Sudhakaran and her sister-in-law Ilavarasi, besides their counsel.
Soon after the hearing ended, the 63-year-old AIADMK chief left for Chennai and will return to the city tomorrow.
She made the appearance after the Supreme Court yesterday rejected her plea for postponing the hearing by a few days due to security concerns and asked her to appear before the special court. (PTI)