Mother of Sanjaya, Shyamali Malakar Arrested for Growing Pot

It happened in 2005. But that doesn't make this story any less hilarious.

The mother of a certain crazy-haired, former American Idol favorite, Jillian Blyth, used to be a pot-growing potentate.

The Momjaya - credit TMZ for that classic pun - was pinched by the Pierce County Sheriff's Department in February 2005 in Pierce County, Washington after they found 310 marijuana plants in the Malakar family garage. That's almost as many stalkers as Hilary Duff has had.

When the 5.0 arrived, Shyamali Malakar, who was arrested for possession, directed the cops to another green-growing facility nearby, where they arrested Blyth and her husband, Charles Quist (Sanjaya's stepdad).

We're told there's actually mugshot of Shyamali, but it can't be made public because she was only 17 at the time of the bust.

Blyth could've gone to jail for up to five years after pleading guilty to one felony count of unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance, but got off with a relatively mellow 30-day sentence. Sanjaya Malakar, of course, was stuck with a lifetime sentence of no longer performing on American Idol after last week.

But at least now we know why he was so laid back on the show.