Former BJP minister and current MLA of Karnataka’s Gangavathi, Gali Janardhan Reddy, stands to be automatically disqualified after being convicted for seven years by a special CBI court in Hyderabad.
A special court for CBI cases in Nampally, Hyderabad, has convicted Janardhan Reddy and four others in the decade-old Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) case. The verdict concludes a 13-year-long trial initiated in 2009 concerning illegal mining activities in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.
The court's decision comes with a seven-year imprisonment sentence for the convicted individuals, based on charges under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 468 & 471 (forgery), and relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The case centres on illegal mining operations in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district and has undergone intense judicial scrutiny over the years, with more than 3,400 documents examined and depositions recorded from 219 witnesses.
Will Janardhan Reddy remain an MLA?
With a seven-year sentence, Reddy now faces immediate disqualification under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The provision states that any elected representative convicted of an offence and sentenced to a minimum of two years’ imprisonment stands disqualified from the date of conviction. The disqualification extends for six years beyond the completion of the prison term.
This means Reddy is not only at risk of losing his MLA seat with immediate effect but also barred from contesting elections for the next 13 years (even years of imprisonment plus six years post-release).
Advocate Rahul Machaiah said, “He stands disqualified immediately. The only way he can reverse it is if the High Court suspends the conviction after he files an appeal. If the conviction is not suspended, the disqualification continues. Merely filing an appeal is not enough. Janardhan Reddy must obtain a suspension of conviction from the appellate court to regain his MLA status. Until then, he cannot return to the Assembly and will be barred from contesting elections.”
While Section 8(4) provided a temporary reprieve for sitting lawmakers, it was struck down by the Supreme Court in the Lily Thomas vs Union of India case, where it declared that it was ‘ultra vires’ of the Constitution.
After a hiatus from active politics following his earlier arrest in the same case in 2011, he returned to the electoral fray. He spent several years in jail in this case and others. In 2023, he formed his own party, Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha, and contested from Gangavathi in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections and won. In March 2024, he merged his party with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).