Court orders auction of Jayalalitha’s properties

BENGALURU: A special court on Wednesday ordered auctioning of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister late Jayalalithaa’s movable assets like sarees and wristwatches which are lying in the state treasury.

An RTI activist had filed a petition before the court seeking to conduct a public auction of Jayalalithaa’s assets claiming that they have been lying with the state treasury even after her conviction in an illegal assets case and after her death.

Based on the petition, the court instructed state government to appoint an officer to conduct a public auction. The court also said that the Karnataka government can recover the Rs 5 crore spent on conducting the trial and the remaining amount should be given to the Tamil Nadu government.