FERA case: VK Sasikala directed to appear in court on May 13

Economic Offences Court judge S Malarmathi, in her order passed on Monday, has directed the superintendent of the Parappana Agrahara Central Jail in Bengaluru to produce Sasikala for questioning by the court under section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc).

The judge gave the order following the completion of cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses on April 29.

The case registered in 1996 relates to the alleged payments made by Sasikala, a close aide of late Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa, and co-accused Bhaskaran in violation of FERA for the purchase of a transponder facility and uplinking charges for the now-defunct JJ TV channel.

The Enforcement Directorate booked Sasikala in 1996 on charges of FERA violations and the case has been dragging on since then. A total of six related cases are before the trial court.

Last year, the Madras High Court ordered that the trial in the case be completed in four months, following which the process began on February 12 at the economic offences court.

Sasikala is serving a four-year jail term awarded to her in a disproportionate assets case.