The Telangana High Court on Wednesday, June 11, granted bail to former Karnataka Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy and stayed his conviction in the multi-crore Obulapuram illegal mining case. The court also revoked his disqualification as an MLA, allowing him to retain his Gangavathi seat in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.
The High Court’s decision comes over a month after a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Hyderabad convicted Reddy and four others on May 6 in the long-running case. Along with Reddy, the High Court also granted bail to co-accused VD Rajagopal (then Director of Mines), BV Srinivasa Reddy (Managing Director of Obulapuram Mining Company), and K Mehfuz Ali Khan (Reddy’s personal assistant).
The court had reserved its orders on the interim bail applications earlier this week on Monday, June 9, after hearing arguments from both sides.
Senior advocate S Nagamuthu, appearing for Reddy, urged the court to expedite adjudication. He pointed out that the Karnataka Assembly Secretary had issued a notification dated May 8 declaring Reddy’s seat vacant, and that the Election Commission of India was preparing to announce a by-election. With the High Court staying the conviction, Reddy is now allowed to continue as MLA.
The case, which dates back to 2009, involves allegations of large-scale illegal mining by the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), then run by Gali Janardhan Reddy. The CBI alleged that the company extracted iron ore illegally from areas beyond its lease, including in protected forest lands in Karnataka, resulting in a loss of Rs 884.13 crore to the state exchequer.
The CBI filed four chargesheets naming nine individuals. On May 6, the special CBI court convicted five of them — BV Srinivasa Reddy (A1), Gali Janardhan Reddy (A2), VD Rajagopal (A3), Obulapuram Mining Company (A4), and K Mehfuz Ali Khan (A7). All were sentenced to seven years in prison.
Meanwhile, former Andhra Pradesh Mines Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy (A9) and retired IAS officer Kripanandam (A8) were acquitted due to lack of evidence. The fifth accused, Forest Department official Lingareddy, passed away during the trial, and senior IAS officer Srilakshmi (A6) was discharged from the case by the High Court in 2022.
The CBI’s investigation, spanning more than a decade, included over 3,400 documents and statements from 219 witnesses. The accused were charged under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including criminal conspiracy, cheating, breach of trust, and forgery, along with violations under the Prevention of Corruption Act.