Obulapuram Mining Case: Gali Janardhan Reddy, other accused get bail; conviction order suspended

Hyderabad: In a major relief to mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy, the Telangana High Court granted him bail on Wednesday in the Obulapuram Mining Case (OMC). The former Karnataka minister is Accused No. 2 in the case.

Further, the judge suspended the conviction order dated May 6 of the CBI Court. As per the conviction order, all the accused were sentenced to seven years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000. The accused is in Cherlapally Prison.

The Single Bench comprising Justice Kunuru Lakshman also ordered Gali Janardhan Reddy not to leave the country without the permission of the court and not indulge in any criminal activities. The bail was given after he furnished a personal bond of Rs 10 lakhs with two sureties.

Three other accused also get bail

The other accused, who were also granted bail are B Venkata Srinivas Reddy, managing director, Obulapuram Mining Company and Accused No 1; Valmiki Dasari Raj Gopal, former director of Mines and Geology (Retired), erstwhile Government of Andhra Pradesh; and Accused No 7 K Mehfuz Ali Khan, a partner at Devi Enterprises.

Moreover, Justice Lakshman has suspended the conviction sentence (7 years imprisonment) regarding Obulapuram Mining Company. The company is represented by its MD, Bovilla Venkata Sreenivasa Reddy.

What is the case about?

On May 6, the court of Principal Special Judge for CBI Case, Dr T Raghuram, after hearing the case, sentenced the above accused to undergo 7 years imprisonment and imposed by fine a of each 10,000 and the Accused No 4, the Obulapuram Mining Company was imposed by a fine of Rs 2 lakh and accordingly, all the accused were sent to Cherlapally Prison.

All the accused, challenging the above-mentioned order, on May 19, filed five criminal appeals in the High Court before the Vacation Bench, seeking a direction to set aside the judgment passed in the CBI court.