New Delhi, Jan. 19: The Supreme Court today permitted a Chennai court to pronounce a verdict in a divestment case in which chief minister Jayalalithaa is an accused.

The clearance for a verdict by the Chennai special court is being seen as a “victory of sorts” for her. The CBI did not oppose an application moved by Tamil Nadu’s former industry secretary, C. Ramachandran, who sought to vacate the stay of the apex court on the pronouncement of the verdict.

The case deals with an allegation that an earlier government headed by Jayalalithaa had divested its shares in Southern Petrochemicals Industries Corporation (Spic) at a price less than the then prevailing market rate of the shares.

If the Chennai court gives a clean chit to the then Jayalalithaa government, it will be a big boost to the chief minister in the run-up to the elections. The trial court, which had concluded hearings on January 10, will take up the case on Thursday.

The delivery of the verdict had been put on hold by the Supreme Court after the CBI filed a petition contesting a Tamil Nadu court’s stay order on its investigation into the case.

Though the Supreme Court had put the pronouncement of judgment in abeyance, it allowed the trial to continue in the special court.

Today, the Centre, which was represented by the CBI, did not oppose the plea to lift the stay on pronouncing the judgment. In the absence of opposition from the prosecuting agency, the apex court cleared the decks for the verdict.

The CBI’s move to pass up the chance to raise an objection coincides with the charged political climate in Tamil Nadu, where Jayalalithaa is left as the sole prospective ally of the BJP. In the Taj Corridor case involving the erstwhile Uttar Pradesh administration led by Mayavati, too, the CBI had taken a diffident stand.

The agency did not file the status report in the court, fuelling charges that the Centre did not want to antagonise Mayavati beyond a point and accelerate her shift towards the Congress.

In another case, the apex court today granted two weeks to Jayalalithaa to respond to a Karnataka government application saying it would provide adequate security to her and ensure free and fair trial in two disproportionate assets cases against her.