E-Paper
Mining case: Reddy gets SC nod to visit, stay in Bellary
Reddy, an accused in a multi-crore illegal mining case which is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation since 2009, was granted bail by the top court on January 20, 2015 on the condition that he will not enter Bellary in Karnataka, and Kadapa and Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy to visit and stay in his native district Bellary in Karnataka, and Kadapa and Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, where he was prohibited from visiting as per a 2015 order granting him bail in a mining case.
Reddy, an accused in a multi-crore illegal mining case which is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation since 2009, was granted bail by the top court on January 20, 2015 on the condition that he will not enter the three districts mentioned above. The former minister was granted conditional bail after spending more than three years in jail.
Modifying the bail order, the bench of justices Vineet Saran and Dinesh Maheshwari said: “Keeping in view that the trial has not commenced for more than 12 years after registration of FIR in 2009 and petitioner (Reddy) has not violated conditions of bail even when he was permitted to visit Bellary, we direct the condition (c) contained in the order passed by this Court on January 20, 2015 be modified to the extent that the petitioner shall inform the Superintendent of Police of the districts concerned when he proposes to go and when he is to leave the district concerned.”
The top court directed him to intimate about the modification of the order to the Senior Superintendent of Police of his native district..
The bench also directed the central agency to intimate the court if any of the bail conditions, such as cooperation during trial and remaining present on dates fixed by courts among others,were violated by the former minister. It further ordered the trial in the case to be expedited and maintained strict vigil on the matter by listing the case after three months.
“We observe that trial court may make every endeavour to expedite the trial,” it said.
The court’s direction came after Reddy, in an affidavit filed through advocate Parmatma Singh, said that the CBI probe into the case is over. Referring to a memo filed by the central agency before the trial court on July 27 this year, Reddy 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.”
In its counter-affidavit, the CBI said: “The witnesses (residing in Bellary) 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.”
Appearing for the central agency, additional solicitor general Madhavi Divan said the trial in the case could possibly be hampered and safety of 47 witnesses staying in Bellary would be jeopardized if the accused was allowed to roam freely in the district.
“This condition (to keep him out of Bellary) is the heart and soul of the January 20, 2015 order and if nothing has happened to the witnesses so far, it is because of this condition,” Divan said.
The bench, however, observed that “in these kinds of matters, trial should not be kept hanging for years” and said “the trial court shall make every endeavour to expedite the trial”.
Reddy’s counsels and senior advocates, Mukul Rohatgi and Ranjit Kumar, argued that every accused had the right to seek protection from the court.
Rohatgi also referred to the slow pace of trial since 2015 and with 300 witnesses and at least 10,000 documents yet to be examined, such a bail condition could not be “cast in stone” against one of the accused.
Kumar pointed out that the bail condition of staying away from hometown was not imposed on the remaining eight accused.
Divan, however, explained that Reddy was the alleged kingpin of the mining scam and his bail was cancelled by Andhra Pradesh high court after he was found to have allegedly bribed the trial judge to secure bail. The trial in the bribery case is pending.
Another judicial officer alleged that a huge bribe was offered to him for granting bail at the behest of the petitioner which he refused, the CBI counsel added.
“If judges are not free, then witnesses are certainly not free. This is the biggest and the most notorious mining scams in the history of this country,” Divan said.
Reddy and his brother-in-law B V Srinivas Reddy, managing director of the Obalapuram Mining Company (OMC), were arrested by CBI on September 5, 2011 from Ballari and brought to Hyderabad.
The company is accused of changing mining lease boundary markings and indulging in illegal mining in the Ballari Reserve Forest area, spread over Ballari in Karnataka and Ananthpur district of Andhra Pradesh.
The CBI had initially filed a charge sheet in the case in February, 2011, and thereafter, two supplementary ones, the latest one being on April 26, 2014.
Reddy had also filed a discharge application in the special CBI court in Hyderabad, which is presently hearing the case, in October 2020 but withdrew the same later.
While granting bail, the top court had directed him to surrender his passport before the concerned trial court and not to leave the country without the permission of the trial judge.
