Chennai, Oct 17 (PTI) : In swift compliance of the Supreme Court's directive while granting her bail in a disproportionate assets case, AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa today asked her party workers to maintain law and order.
Hours after the apex court granted her the major relief, Jayalalithaa, currently lodged in Bangalore Central Prison, in a statement also exhorted her party cadres not to "criticise or comment" on court orders delivered in the disproportionate assets case in which she was convicted.
In her first statement since September 27 when the special court in Bangalore sentenced her to four-year jail term and slapped a fine of Rs 100 crore, Jayalalithaa pleaded with her party cadres to refrain from criticising judges or verdicts of judiciary.
"I request all to maintain peace, law and order and not give anyone a chance to criticise", she said in the statement.
Jayalalithaa's appeal came in the wake of a directive by three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of India H L Dattu, asking Jayalalithaa to direct her party workers not to create such problems. The court said it will take serious objection if it comes to know that disturbances were caused by political workers on her instruction.
"I appeal to my beloved Tamils, my supporters and my party men not to criticise judgements or the judges who delivered them or the court proceedings, which will bring disrepute to the judiciary or make allegations against any one".
Jayalalithaa is expected to walk out of the Bangalore prison tomorrow after completing the bail formalities.
Exuding confidence of getting justice from the judiciary on her appeal challenging her conviction in the 18-year old case, she said, "I am hopeful that I will be successful in the appeal that I have made in the court".
The Special Court in Bangalore had last month held Jayalalithaa and three others including her close associate Sasikala, V N Sudhakaran and Illavarasi, guilty of corruption.
The Karnataka High Court had on October 7 rejected the bail petition of Jayalalithaa and three others maintaining that there was no ground for granting such a relief, following which she moved the apex court.
Tamil Nadu had witnessed protests against the conviction of Jayalalithaa and sporadic incidents of violence causing damage to properties.
Posters had also surfaced in various parts of the state criticising the Bangalore court verict. However, AIADMK had disowned them.