[JURIST] An Indian court on Saturday sentenced Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram to four years in prison for corruption in a case that was filed 18 years ago. Special Judge John Michael D’Cunha held [Al Jazeera report] Jayaram “guilty of amassing wealth disproportionate to known sources of her income” under Sections 109 and 120 (b) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) [text] and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988 [text, PDF]. The sentence will strip Jayalalithaa of her position as chief minister, as Indian law prohibits any politician from holding public office after being sentenced to more than two years in jail. Jayalalithaa was charged with amassing illegal wealth of at least $10 million in 1997 after police seized assets including 28 kilograms of gold, 750 pairs of shoes and more than 10,000 saris in a raid of her home. Prosecutors argued that her assets, which includes two 1,000-acre estates in Tamil Nadu, were vastly disproportionate to her earnings during her first term as chief minister between 1991 to 1996. Jayalalithaa, a former Indian film star, has been elected to chief minister four separate times. She was elected to her current term in 2011.

Governmental corruption has been a topic of serious discussion in India in recent years. In January, Indian president Pranab Mukherjee [official website] signed into law [JURIST report] a landmark anti-graft bill. The new law creates a corruption ombudsman with extensive power to prosecute politicians and civil servants to create a “bribe-free India.” Last July the India’s supreme court ruled [JURIST report] that elected representatives convicted of serious crimes must immediately vacate their positions and be disqualified from future elections. The anti-corruption bill was stalled [JURIST report] in the upper house of parliament in December 2011. The bill failed to pass after an abrupt reversal by the ruling congress, a move criticized by the opposition party. The lower house of parliament passed the bill [JURIST report] earlier that month.