J Jayalalithaa, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, passed away on December 5, 2016 following a massive cardiac arrest. She was 68. According to Apollo Hospitals, “every possible clinical attempt was made to sustain her revival”. “However despite our best efforts the Honourable Chief Minister’s underlying conditions rendered her unable to recover and she passed away at 11:30 PM today (5.12.2016.),” the hospital’s statement read. Jayalalithaa, the AIADMK supremo, and many time Tamil Nadu CM had a huge follower base and had over the course of several years acquired a “cult status”. As the nation mourns her death, we take a look at a timeline of important events in her life.
1. June 24, 1991: Jayalalithaa sworn-in Chief Minister after she leads AIADMK to a huge win in assembly elections.
2. May, 1996: Amidst charges of corruption during its rule, AIADMK loses in the assembly elections. DMK returns to power.
3. July 11, 1996: Then Janata Party leader Dr Subramanian Swamy files a private complaint in a court accusing Jayalalithaa of amassing wealth worth Rs 66.65 crore disproportionate to her known sources of income during 1991 to 1996.
4. December 7, 1996: Jayalalithaa arrested. Charges of corruption, including accumulation of disproportionate assets, follows.
5. 1997: Prosecution launched against Jayalalithaa, her close friend Sasikala and two others in a Chennai Court in DA case.
6. April, 1997: DMK Government sets up three special courts to try 47 corruption cases against Jayalalithaa, her former cabinet colleagues and others.
7. June 4, 1997: Charge-sheeted in DA case.
8. 1999: Discharged in Coal import deal case by a special court; Upheld by Madras High Court.
9. February 2, 2000: Special court convicts her in Pleasant Stay Hotel case related to permission granted for construction allegedly flouting rules. Trial progresses in DA case. By August 2000, as many as 250 out of 260 prosecution witnesses were examined.
10. October, 2000: A special court in Chennai convicts Jayalalithaa in TANSI land deal case.
11. May 14, 2001: Jayalalithaa leads AIADMK to a landslide win in assembly elections; sworn in Chief Minister though she was disqualified to contest elections.
12. September 21, 2001: Jayalalithaa unseated as CM after Supreme Court quashes her appointment as she was disqualified to contest polls due to TANSI case conviction.
13. December 4, 2001: Madras High Court acquits Jayalalithaa in the TANSI case and Pleasant Stay Hotel case.
14. February 21, 2002: Jayalalithaa elected to Assembly in a by poll from Andipatti constituency.
15. March 2, 2002: Jayalalithaa sworn in as Chief Minister. In the DA case, three public prosecutors resign as also senior counsel. Several prosecution witnesses resile from their earlier depositions.
16. November 18, 2003: On a petition by DMK, Supreme Court transfers the trial in DA case to Bengaluru.
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17. November 24, 2003: Supreme Court upholds Jayalalithaa’s acquittal in TANSI case.
18. January 23, 2004: Acquitted by a special court in the Rs 28.28 crore SPIC disinvestment case.
19. February 19, 2005: Karnataka Government appoints B V Acharya, a former advocate general, as Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) to conduct the prosecution in DA case.
20. May 11, 2006: AIADMK loses in assembly elections, DMK returns to power.
21. May 16, 2011: Jayalalithaa leads AIADMK to victory in assembly polls; sworn in Chief Minister October/November 2011: Jayalalithaa deposes in Bengaluru Special Court in DA case and answers 1,339 questions by judge.
22. August 12, 2012: Acharya discharged from the case after he expresses his inability to continue as SPP and resigns.
23. February 2, 2013: Karnataka Government appoints G Bhavani Singh as SPP.
24. August 28, 2014: Special Court reserves judgement.
25. September 27, 2014: The Special Court holds Jayalalithaa and three others guilty of corruption, awards four years jail term to each, slaps Rs 100 crore fine on her, Rs 10 crore each on three other accused. Jayalalithaa unseated as Chief Minister after she attracts disqualification as an MLA due to the conviction.
26. October 18, 2014 : Jayalalithaa granted bail by Supreme Court, released from Bengaluru jail after spending 21 days.
27. Jan 19, 2015: High Court rejects prayer by Anbazhagan seeking discontinuation of Bhavani Singh as SPP.
28. Jan 24, 2015: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy files application before the High Court seeking permission to implead himself in Jayalalithaa’s appeal.
29. Feb 11, 2015: High Court dismisses appeal by Anbazhagan against rejection of his plea for discontinuation of Bhavani Singh as SPP.
30. Mar 11, 2015: Swamy prays to the court to dismiss Jayalalithaa’s appeal and to confirm her conviction.
31. Mar 11, 2015: Karnataka High Court reserves order on the appeals filed by Jayalalithaa and three others.
32. April 27, 2015: The Supreme Court annuls Tamil Nadu Government’s appointment of Bhavani Singh as SPP.
33. April 28, 2015: B V Acharya re-appointed as SPP. Files written submission in High Court; seeks dismissal of appeals by Jayalalithaa and others.
34. May 11, 2015: Karnataka High Court acquits Jayalalithaa.
35. May 23, 2016: Sworn in Chief Minister after a massive victory in state assembly polls.
36. September 22, 2016: Jayalalithaa is admitted at the Apollo Hospitals in Chennai after she complained of fever and dehydration.
37. October 2016: Even as Apollo Hospitals says that Jayalalithaa is “responding well” to treatment, a team of doctors from AIIMS says that she needs to stay in the hospital for longer. FM Arun Jaitley, BJP President Amit Shah, Congress VP Rahul Gandhi, DMK leader M K Stalin visit her at the hospital. The expert team of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), along with a UK-based specialist, who had earlier examined J Jayalalithaa, visited Apollo hospital again.
38. November 2016: Apollo Hospitals chief says that Jayalalithaa has recovered. AIADMK states that Jayalalithaa’s lung infection has been cured and that she will return home soon.
39. December 4, 2016: AIADMK says that an AIIMS expert team has said that Jayalalithaa will return home soon. However, in the evening the Tamil Nadu CM suffers a massive cardiac arrest. Apollo Hospitals says that following the cardiac arrest, Jayalalithaa has been put on extracorporeal membrane heart assist device.
40. December 5, 2016: Jayalalithaa continues to be “very critical”. Apollo Hospitals issues a statement that Jayalalithaa passed away at 11:30 PM. According to Apollo Hospitals, “every possible clinical attempt was made to sustain her revival”. “However despite our best efforts the Honourable Chief Minister’s underlying conditions rendered her unable to recover and she passed away at 11:30 PM today (5.12.2016.),” the hospital’s statement reads.
