Gali Janardhan Reddy Granted Bail: Telangana HC Suspends Conviction in Illegal Mining Case

In a huge sigh of relief to Gali Janardhan Reddy, the Telangana High Court on Wednesday suspended the seven-year jail sentence of Karnataka BJP MLA Gali and three others in the Obulapuram illegal mining case. The court also granted them conditional bail.

Justice K. Lakshman passed the order after hearing pleas seeking bail and a stay on the conviction. Along with Reddy, those granted bail include his relative B.V. Srinivas Reddy, Managing Director of Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), former Mining Department Director D. Rajagopal, and Reddy’s personal assistant Ali Khan.

All four have been directed to furnish a personal bond of ₹10 lakh each and have been barred from leaving the country.

The case, which dates back to 2009, involves alleged illegal mining by OMC in the Obulapuram region of Anantapur district in the then-undivided Andhra Pradesh. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered the case in December 2009, following a complaint by the then-Congress-led Andhra Pradesh government. The CBI accused OMC of illegally extracting minerals worth ₹884.13 crore beyond its permitted mining limits.

A special CBI court in Hyderabad had convicted the four on May 6 this year and sentenced each to seven years in prison, with an additional four years for Rajagopal. A fine of ₹20,000 each was also imposed, along with a ₹2 lakh penalty on OMC.

However, the same court had acquitted former Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy and retired IAS officer B. Krupanandam due to lack of evidence. Sabitha Indra Reddy, who later joined BRS, is currently the Maheshwaram MLA.

During the High Court hearing on Tuesday, Janardhan Reddy's lawyer, S. Nagamuthu, argued for a stay on the conviction, stating that Reddy might lose his MLA post. The Karnataka Assembly Secretariat had already issued a notification declaring the seat vacant, and the Election Commission was preparing for a possible bypoll.

Meanwhile, the High Court adjourned to June 19 the hearing on a discharge petition filed by IAS officer Y. Srilakshmi, another accused in the case. The court has asked the CBI to respond to her petition.

The Obulapuram mining scandal is one of the biggest mining-related corruption cases in India, with over 219 witnesses examined and more than 3,400 documents presented during the trial.