Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s niece and nephew, J Deepa and J Deepak, have approached the Madras High Court seeking authorisation to legally administer her properties. Submitting a petition before the Madras HC, the two claim that as per the Hindu Succession Act, they are second class legal heirs, thereby entitling them to inherit her estate.
Jayalalithaa died on 5 December 2016, and is believed to have left no will. This led to multiple claims to her Poes Garden residence, a sprawling 24,000 square feet property in a posh residential neighbourhood.
Concerns grew since Jayalalithaa’s close aide VK Sasikala was residing in the property. However, with Sasikala’s conviction in the disproportionate assets case and her subsequent imprisonment, the Tamil Nadu government announced in August 2017 that the house would be converted into a memorial.
J Deepak, who is the petitioner in the case, claims that ‘a due and diligent search for a Will was made but none was found’. Deepak, who had earlier approached the tahsildar in September was refused an application that would declare him the legal heir of Jayalalithaa. Instead, the court asked that he approach a civil court to obtain a legal heir certificate. Pointing out that Jayalilathaa was unmarried and died without issue, the petition also claims that there are no other legal heirs.
Jayalalithaa’s death had also brought maternity claims from Amrutha Sarathy, a woman from Bengaluru. Claiming to be the daughter born to Jayalalithaa and Sobhan Babu out of wedlock, she has moved the Madras HC seeking to exhume the body of J Jayalalithaa and establish parentage through a DNA test.
The Properties In The Petition
The petition details 29 items of jewellery owned by the late Chief Minister who was posthumously convicted in the Disproportionate Assets case by the Supreme Court. This is in addition to the Poes Garden residence, a house in Hyderabad, a grape garden in Hyderabad, a commercial building in Mandaveli, a shop at Parson’s Complex, and a three-acre dry agricultural land in Kancheepuram district.
The petition claims that the petitioners would make a ‘full and true inventory’ of Jayalalithaa’s properties and credits and submit them before the court in six months. The matter may be taken up before the Madras HC next week.
(This article has been published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)