Guwahati: Veteran actress turned politician Jaya Prada has been sentenced to a six months jail term and imposed a fine of Rs 5000 as she was found guilty of failing to pay Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) funds to the employees of her theatrical business.
According to sources, a lawsuit was filed against Jaya Prada and her colleagues, Ram Kumar and Raja Babu in Chennai’s Egmore Magistrate Court by the Labour Government Insurance Corporation.
Jaya Prada owned a movie theatre in Chennai which unfortunately had to be shut down due to unbearable losses. The staff of the theatre filed a complaint against her for failing to disburse the ESI funds that had been withheld from their pay cheques.
The actress further admitted and said that she would clear all the dues of the theatre staff. Jaya reportedly requested the court to dismiss the case but the court turned down her appeal.
Jaya appeared in several Telugu films and Bollywood films in the late 70s and 80s. She later left the film industry and entered politics joining the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) in 1994. She then joined BJP in 2019.