Telangana High Court to decide on interim bail in OMC case involving Gali Janardhan Reddy

Justice K. Lakshman heard the interim pleas in the criminal appeals filed by Janardhan Reddy and others, seeking suspension of the conviction and sentence imposed by the CBI Special Court, Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Monday reserved its orders on interim bail applications filed by several accused, including former Karnataka Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy, in connection with the Obulapuram Mining Corporation (OMC) case.

Justice K. Lakshman heard the interim pleas in the criminal appeals filed by Janardhan Reddy and others, seeking suspension of the conviction and sentence imposed by the CBI Special Court, Hyderabad, on May 5, 2024.

---

The Special Court had sentenced Janardhan Reddy, along with co-accused B V Srinivasa Reddy, V D Rajagopal (IAS, Retd.), and K. Mehafus Ali Khan, to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each after convicting them in the multi-crore illegal mining case.

During the hearing, senior counsel representing Gali Janardhan Reddy urged the court to take up the application for suspension of conviction on priority, pointing out that the Karnataka Assembly had, through a notification dated May 8, declared the vacancy of his legislative seat following the conviction. Counsel further submitted that an election notification to fill the vacant seat was likely to be issued shortly by the Election Commission of India and sought early adjudication of the matter.

It was noted that the vacation benches of the High Court, during May, had declined to entertain the criminal appeals or interim applications on the ground that no urgency had been demonstrated at that time.

All accused in the OMC case have sought interim reliefs, including bail and stay of sentence, pending final adjudication of their appeals. The court, after hearing the parties, reserved orders on the interim applications and posted the main appeals for further consideration in August.