RS: It was disturbing. It is like trauma. It is traumatic for not just my family, but also my friends. But never did I feel that I must not pursue the case. Even after that, I was the prosecutor in all the cases of corruption, disproportionate assets etc against Jayalalithaa. From 1996 to 2000, I was the State Public Prosecutor. I pursued all the cases against her and her cabinet colleagues. I adduced all the available evidence. The London Hotel case is where the evidence was collected in pursuance of a letter rogatory by the team led by me. I went to London and sat with the Serious Fraud Officer (SFO). It was one of the rare cases where our Court sent a special request to the courts in other countries, asking for their help.
I led a team of investigators and had a week-long discussion on this, and we convinced the investigators there. Initially, there was a little hesitation on the SFO’s part because they thought that it was merely a case of dealing in foreign exchange. They said while that might be an offence in India, they would not assist unless it was a crime their country. So, I had to convince them that it was a case of bribery and corruption punishable in the United Kingdom. And thereafter, they helped. In fact, I collected a lot of material and came back.
Source: Barandbench
