SELVI J. JAYALALITHA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER who is arraigned as accused facing charge for the offences punishable under Section 13(2)(i) of the Prevention of Corruption Act in Spl. C.C. 208/04, seeks a direction to the special judge presiding over the special court constituted to take on record the translation of the charge dated 10.8.2014 submitted by the petitioners through a memo dated 11.8.2014 and eschew from consideration the English translation dated 17.12.1998 vide Annexure -C.

(2.) LEARNED counsel for the petitioner would contend, at the inception of trial within the state of Tamil Nadu, the original charge was in Tamil language. The court of first instance had framed the charges in Tamil language and had read it out to the accused to record the plea. He relies on the charges framed by the court on 21.12.1997 in the case in question. He would submit, accused believed in good faith that on transfer of the case to the state of Karnataka, translation of records in the transferee court was literal and did not suffer from any improper translation. However, she recently realized that the English translation of the charge which was framed vide Annexure -C is not the literal translation of the charges framed by the court of first instance on 21.10.1997 (Check date). Thus petitioner approached the court of first instance.

(3.) IN the normal circumstances, I would have issued notice to the respondent -State, but as I could see, the issue falls in a very narrow compass. It is not in dispute charges against the petitioner were framed on 21.10.1997 in Tamil. On transfer of the case to Karnataka, translation of the entire records from the original language (Tamil) has been made in English and the accused has been furnished with the translated charge, depositions, statement of witnesses, and I am informed, to a great extent, other documentary evidence. In this fact situation, accused having been served with translated copies, has proceeded further and participated in the trial which has now reached the stage of culmination. The stage is arguments on both sides.