India, Feb. 8 -- The dispute over who will inherit the properties once possessed by former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa has reached the Supreme Court with the former CM's niece, her legal heir, challenging an order of the Karnataka high court refusing to grant her relief. Subsequently, a trial court entrusted the property to the state.

The properties in question were confiscated in the disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa in which she was acquitted by the high court in May 2015. By the time the Supreme Court pronounced its decision on February 14, 2017, the former CM and head of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) passed away in December 2016. The criminal proceedings against her abated on this ...