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Third special judge also ignores central directive on transfer of Jaya cases

A special judge trying Central Bureau of Investigation cases, today declined to take cognisance of the Centre's notification transferring corruption cases against All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam General Secretary J Jayalalitha and others. The notification had called for the transfer of cases from the courts of the three special judges to the sessions courts and from his court to those of the other special judges.

When some CBI cases filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act came up for hearing before him, S S P Darwesh, the ninth additional sessions judge, the CBI prosecutors brought the notification to his attention.

They said as per the notification, these cases had to be tried by the 11th, 12th and 13th additional sessions judges from whom the corruption cases against Jayalalitha and some of her erstwhile cabinet colleagues had been transferred.

The judge held that the notification was only an executive order and, hence, it was not binding on him.

The Madras high court had jurisdiction over the CBI courts and he could act only on a high court directive, he said, before going ahead with the day's proceedings.

It may be recalled that the two of three special judges, S Sambandham and V Radhakrishnan, had already refused to take cognisance of the notification and rejected memoranda seeking transfer of cases pending before them.

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