Illegal mining case: Can’t allow Janardhan Reddy to stay in Bellary, CBI tells SC

The agency probing the illegal mining case against companies owned by Reddy brothers of Bellary was arguing against a petition filed by one of the brothers to relax one of the bail conditions imposed by the top court restraining him from entering Bellary

New Delhi Permitting illegal mining accused and former Karnataka minister Gali Janardan Reddy to permanently stay in Bellary will convey a wrong message as the trial in the case is yet to begin and there are 47 witnesses of this case residing in the district whose lives will be under serious threat, said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to the Supreme Court on Thursday.

Illegal mining case: Can’t allow Janardhan Reddy to stay in Bellary, CBI tells SC

The agency probing the illegal mining case against companies owned by Reddy brothers of Bellary was arguing against a petition filed by one of the brothers to relax one of the bail conditions imposed by the top court restraining him from entering Bellary. The Supreme Court had granted bail to Reddy in the illegal mining case on January 20, 2015, more than three years after he was arrested in September 2011.

Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Ranjeet Kumar who appeared for Reddy pointed out that the CBI had filed charge sheets in the case and had filed a memo on July 16, 2021 before the court of Principal Special Judge, Hyderabad, stating that investigation is complete. Reddy in his affidavit filed through advocate Parmatma Singh said, “In the said memo, it is clearly averred on behalf of the CBI that the investigation in the FIR being RC17(A)/2009 dated December 7, 2009 is complete and there are no further reports to be filed u/s 173(8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.”

The bench of Justices Vineet Saran and Dinesh Maeshwari told CBI that if this was true it can record a statement to this effect. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Madhvi Divan appearing for CBI sought time to take instructions and the matter was posted for hearing on Friday.

Divan told the Court that in this case, the nine accused – including former ministers and bureaucrats – have been acting in tandem and delaying the trial by filing discharge applications, quashing petitions and bail petitions to crowd the docket of the trial court. “The fact that this man (Reddy) is permanently going to stay in Bellary sends a wrong message. This is one of the most notorious mining scams ever. We want to go on with the trial but their permanent stay in Bellary will be detrimental to the trial. A message must go from this court to ensure trial in this case is started,” the ASG submitted

Rohatgi said, “These restrictions are harsh and amount to externment. For how long can Reddy be kept out of his hometown Bellary. This condition must be waived. With nearly 10,000 documents and 300 witnesses, the trial will not end in the next 10 years if it goes this way.”

CBI informed the court that out of 300 witnesses, 47 reside in Bellary. Of them, 30 are public servants and bank officials while 15 are private persons. “These witnesses are very crucial for the prosecution case….The petitioner’s firms namely Obalapuram Mining Corporation Private Limited and Bellary Iron Ore Private Limited had criminally intimidated these witnesses and extorted the iron ore from these witnesses and their mining companies by forcing them to sell the iron ore at much lesser price than the prevailing market rates.”

Since the accused were restrained from entering Bellary, these witnesses were able to muster the courage to reveal these facts, hoping to get justice, the CBI said, adding that the petitioner’s stay at Bellary shall pose a “serious threat to the lives of these witnesses” as was evident through their statements before the arrest of the accused.

Kumar, also appearing for Reddy said that the cases raked up by CBI were of 2012-13 and no complaint of intimidation has been filed after grant of bail. One such case was even closed for want of evidence. Since grant of bail by the top court, Reddy was allowed to visit Bellary on eight occasions. To avoid filing applications for permission to enter Bellary from time to time, the top court had allowed him to move an application for modifying the bail condition.