VK Sasikala, the aide of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and a convict in the Tamil Nadu disproportionate assets case, is likely to be released from the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru on January 27, 2021. This information has come to light through a Right To Information (RTI) reply given by the central prison authority based on a query by a Bengaluru lawyer and activist, Narasimha Murthy.
This date, however, may be deferred by a year, to February 2022, if Sasikala chooses to not pay the in-default fine as ordered by the court. Further, the date may also vary if Sasikala chooses to apply for further parole.
It may be recalled that the Supreme Court of India overruled the Karnataka High Court in February 2017 and convicted Sasikala, and other co-accused were awarded four years' imprisonment and Rs 10 crore fine.
Earlier in September, speaking with TNM, Sasikala’s lawyer Raja Senthura Pandian had said that they were hoping for an early release by end of September or early October 2020 on account of her good behaviour, despite her involvement in the special treatment controversy. IPS officer D Roopa, who was then posted as the Director-General of Prisons, had unearthed massive irregularities where high-profile prisoners like Sasikala enjoyed special privileges at the behest of jail officials.
As reported by TNM in January 2019, the Vinay Kumar Commission appointed by then Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had validated Roopa’s findings of multiple irregularities. The findings included an entire corridor with five rooms being left empty for Sasikala’s use under the guise of providing security to her, extended visiting hours and falsification of records to cover this up, and free movement within jail premises with the help of jail officials.
At that time, it was also reported that the sources in the AIADMK, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu of which she was the general secretary, was not expecting any early release.
Prior to her stint in 2017, Sasikala has been imprisoned at different periods in 1997 and 2014 for the same case, which would be counted as part of her jail stint.