SC tells Jaya daughter claimant to go to HC

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a petition by Amrutha, who claims to be a biological daughter of the late J. Jayalalithaa, to exhume the AIADMK leader's body for a DNA test to establish the petitioner's parentage.

Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta, however, permitted her to move the Madras High Court with her prayer.

Amrutha claims her foster parents — the sister and brother-in-law of the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister -- had adopted her in 1982. She claimed she was the biological daughter of Jayalalithaa and this was conveyed to her by her foster father before he died.

She urged the court to order exhumation of the body of her "mother" so that the family could perform her funeral in a traditional manner.

Amrutha told the court that she was born on August 14, 1980, and her mother's identity was kept secret to avoid social stigma and "uphold the dignity of the family as they belonged to a very religious, orthodox and cultured Brahmin family". Two aunts of hers who are cousins of Jayalalithaa are co-petitioners.

Her petition does not say who she believes her father is. Jayalalithaa, who was one of Tamil cinema's most popular stars before turning politician, never married.

Jayalalithaa's death at the age of 68 ignited a succession war that eventually pitted her closest aide, VK Sasikala, against AIADMK leaders, including Chief Minister E Palaniswami. Among relatives who tried to claim her political legacy is Deepa Jayakumar, whose father was Jayalalithaa's brother. Deepa had a few months ago refuted Amrutha's claims.