'SPP has no authority to represent DVAC'

BENGALURU: Counsel for senior DMK leader K Anbazhagan on Wednesday said special public prosecutor G Bhavani Singh has no authority to appear on behalf of DVAC in the criminal appeals filed by former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa and three others.
The counsel told the special bench hearing the appeals that the Karnataka government had appointed Singh as SPP only to conduct the trial before the special court under guidelines of the apex court.He added it had not appointed him to represent DVAC in terms of the CrPC and hence Singh cannot represent the prosecuting agency.
At this juncture, Justice C R Kumaraswam y, who has been specially assigned to hear these appeals, asked him to approach the Karnataka government in this matt er.
Counsel for the senior DMK leader replied that a representation had already been submitted and so far the government has not considered the same.
However, to a query by the judge, Singh said the Karnataka g overnment had appointed him as SPP to conduct the trial, following which the Tamil Nadu government authorized him to represent the DVAC in the appeals.
Thereafter Justice Kumaraswamy suggested Anbaz hagan's counsel to approach the appropriate forum as the special bench was constituted only to hear the criminal appeals arising out of the order of t he trial court.
Anbazhagan had already filed a writ petitio n seeking a direction to the Karnataka government to appoint an SPP replacing Singh to appear on behalf of DVAC in the four criminal appeals.
File objections
In a related development, the judge asked the prosecution as well as the appellants to file objections to the interlocutory application filed by K Anbazhagan wherein he had sought permission to assist the court as intervener as he had done before the trial court.
The application is likely to be taken up on January 13.