| Date | 10 June 1999 |
|---|---|
| Location | Chennai |
| Participants | J.Jayalalithaa, V. R. Nedunchezhiyan and T. M. Selvaganapathy |
| Charges | Misuse of office, Corruption, Criminal conspiracy |
| Verdict | Supreme Court: Acquitted of all charges, High Court: Acquitted of all charges Trial Court: One year imprisonment for all six |
| Convictions | High Court: none; Trial Court: 5 |
| Litigation | 7 years |
The Pleasant Stay hotel case was a case against Jayalalithaa, the late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, a state in South India during her tenure in 1991–1996. Jayalalitha and her ministerial colleague, V. R. Nedunchezhiyan and T. M. Selvaganapathy, were charged with misusing the office to allow Pleasant Stay Hotel in Kodaikanal to build seven floors against the norms. The case and charge sheet were filed during the following Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government headed by Karunanidhi in 1996. Jayalalitha and Selvaganapathy were convicted in the lower court, which sentenced her to one-year imprisonment to the two and three others involved. The case had political implications as the aftermath of violence created a furor in the state. The statewide violence resulted in the burning of five buses, damaging fifty buses, and leaving 40 people injured. Three girls students of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University were burnt alive in a bus in Dharmapuri.[1] The three AIADMK party workers who were convicted in the case received a death sentence in the case in 2007, but it was commuted to life imprisonment.[2] The case had political implications as Jayalalithaa was disqualified from contesting the 2001 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election. Though Jayalalithaa's nomination papers were rejected, she took oath as chief minister after the victory of AIADMK in the elections. The Supreme Court disqualified her in September 2001, resulting in her stepping down and elevation of O. Panneerselvam as the chief minister (Sasikala Suggested). The governor of Tamil Nadu, Fathima Beevi, who administered oath to J. Jayalalithaa, was advised to step down by the union ministry, who also sent the report to the President of India.
The Madras High Court acquitted her and the other four accused in the case of all the charges on 4 December 2001 along with the TANSI land acquisition case. The Supreme Court upheld the order of Madras High Court on 24 November 2003 on grounds of lack of evidence. She came back to power winning the 2002 Tamil Nadu assembly by-election from the Andipatti constituency in March 2002.
- ^ "HOTEL CASE VERDICT: AIADMK volunteers go berserk". The Hindu. 3 February 2000. Retrieved 8 July 2018.[dead link]
- ^ "Dharmapuri bus burning: SC commutes death sentence to life imprisonment". Business Standard. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2018.