Jaya Jaitly

Jaya Jaitly (born 14 June 1942) is an Indian politician, activist, author, Indian handicrafts curator and former President of Samata Party.

She stepped down as party president because of the Operation West End controversy in 2002. In 2020 she was sentenced to 4 years in prison for her role in the Operation West End bribery case.

Biography Jaya Jaitly was born on 14 June 1942 in Simla, British India. Her father K. K. Chettur, from Kerala, and was independent India's first ambassador to Japan.

She has authored and published books including Crafts of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, the Craft Traditions of India, Viswakarma's Children, a socio-economic study of crafts people, and Crafting Nature. A selection of her articles on politics, social issues, women, human rights, foreign affairs, etc. was compiled into a book titled Podium on the Pavement. She has assisted NCERT in creating a syllabus for the craft heritage of India's schools. She edits and publishes a monthly political journal of democratic socialist thought and action called The Other Side. She has been deeply involved in heritage issues at all levels and has received awards from PHD Chamber and FICCI for her work in culture and arts and as a role model for women leaders.

Operation West End

After Tehelka's scandal Operation West End broke out, where she was accused of accepting a bribe of two lakh rupees. Fernandes' name figured prominently in Operation West End, a sting operation in which journalist Mathew Samuel, armed with hidden cameras, from a controversial investigative journal, Tehelka, posing as representatives of a fictitious arms company, appeared to bribe the Bharatiya Janata Party President, Bangaru Laxman, a senior officer in the Indian Army and Jaya Jaitly, the General Secretary of the Samata Party and Fernandes' companion. She stepped down as president of the Samata Party in 2002.

In 2020, she was sentenced to 4 years in prison for her role in the Defence Contract bribery case. She was convicted under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and Section 9 (taking gratification for exercise of personal influence with public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

In 2012, she was allowed to visit Fernandes, who had Alzheimer's, after her having to petition the High court against Fernandes' relatives who opposed her.