Jayaram Jayalalitha was granted bail, by India’s Supreme Court. Jayaram Jayalalitha, former chief minister of the southern state Tamil Nadu was imprisoned last month on corruption charges. Jayalalitha was one of India’s most controversial politicians. After finding out about the court’s rejection of an early bail her supporters gathered and wept on the streets. She had received a four year sentence for corruption. Her case was on trial for 18 years. Finally, Jayalalitha was found guilty of gathering a wealth of $10 m which could not be properly justified.
Jayaram Jayalalitha’s lawyer had argued that bail would be appropriate for his client, because she has some major health issues. On Friday she was granted bail. She was urged by the Indian court to complete all the paperwork, relating to her appeal against the conviction in maximum two months. If she fails to do so in time, the court said it would not give her “a day more” to complete the procedure. The Supreme court also asked Jayaram Jayalalitha to make sure her supporters and party workers remained peaceful. Her supporters protested last month, against her conviction. Police forces had to disperse the masses of people. Jayaram Jayalalitha was not the only corrupt politician charged. Three others were sentenced by the Karnataka court. Jayalalitha was also charged with a 1 billion rupee fine ( $16 million). The others involved and charged by the court had to pay a fine of $1.6 million each.
Jayaram Jayalalitha is a former actress. She played in more than one hundred movies. She was chief minister of Tamil Nadu four times: from 1991 – 1996, 2002 – 2006 and 2011 – 2014. Some people in India accuse her of forming a personality cult. Columnist Shoba declared: “Brand Amma is emerging as the mother of all welfare schemes, offering a ready refuge from inflationary anxieties and serving to affirm Jayalalitha’s stature as an epic hero -a little vain and flawed but, in the end, larger-than-life”. Her supporters appreciate her for her poverty relief efforts. She is known to have an extravagant lifestyle. During a raid on one of her homes, police have discovered over 10,000 saris and over 700 pairs of shoes.