Obulapuram mining case: Telangana High Court suspends conviction of BJP MLA Gali Janardhan Reddy, 3 others

Grants him bail, three others receive similar relief. The court cites health, legislative implications, and potential by-elections while remanding a related IAS case for rehearing

Hyderabad: Justice K Lakshman of the Telangana High Court on Wednesday granted major relief to Karnataka legislator Gali Janardhan Reddy by suspending his seven-year sentence and conviction while granting bail in connection with the Obulapuram Mining Company illegal iron ore case.

Three other convicts — BV Srinivas Reddy, VD Rajagopal, and K Mehfuz Ali Khan — were also granted bail, with their sentences suspended. Justice Lakshman granted conditional bail, directing the convicts to produce personal bonds of Rs 10 lakh each, in addition to furnishing sureties. The court also directed that the convicts shall not leave the country without its permission.

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The allegations against Janardhan Reddy and the three other appellants involve illegal mining of iron ore by criminally trespassing into government and private lands, causing a loss of over Rs 800 crore to the government.

The court considered that the petitioners had already undergone half of their sentence and that Rajagopal and Srinivas Reddy are facing health issues. It also noted that Janardhan Reddy is a sitting legislator and that the Secretary of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly has already issued a notification affecting his membership.

Justice Lakshman considered the likelihood of the Election Commission of India (ECI) conducting fresh by-elections, observing that such an event would result in irreparable loss to Reddy. In these special circumstances, where irreversible consequences may follow, the judge held it appropriate to suspend the sentence and conviction.

In a related development in the same case, IAS officer Y Srilakshmi — who was discharged by the Telangana High Court — has had her case taken up by the CBI, which approached the Supreme Court. The apex court remanded the case back to the High Court for a fresh hearing. At the request of the CBI counsel, Justice Lakshman has posted the matter to July 11 for the CBI to file a detailed counter and for further hearing.