The High Court also put a hold on the conviction order dated May 6, 2025, which had sentenced him to seven years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs. 10,000.
Hyderabad, June 11: The Telangana High Court has suspended the conviction and seven-year sentence of former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy in the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) illegal iron ore mining case. The court also granted him bail on Wednesday.
The High Court extended similar relief to three other individuals who were convicted along with Reddy, including his brother-in-law and OMC Managing Director B V Srinivas Reddy, former Andhra Pradesh Director of Mines and Geology V D Rajagopal, and Reddy’s assistant K Mehfuz Ali Khan.
All four convicts, including Reddy, had appealed to the Telangana High Court to suspend their sentence and grant them bail after being convicted by a Special CBI Court in Hyderabad on May 6, 2025.
While granting bail, the High Court imposed certain conditions. The accused were required to furnish a personal bond of Rs.10 lakh each, with two sureties of the same amount. The court also directed that they must not leave the country without prior permission.
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The CBI registered the case on December 8, 2009, alleging large-scale illegal mining activities in the Bellary Reserve Forest area located on the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border.
The CBI said, “It was alleged that the accused in criminal conspiracy with each other committed offences of illegal mining of iron ore by criminally trespassing into the government lands and lands of other private persons and thus causing a loss of more than Rs 800 crore to the government.”
According to the CBI’s charge sheets, Janardhan Reddy and his associates were accused of tampering with mining lease boundary markings and illegally extracting iron ore far beyond their approved limits, thereby causing massive environmental damage and financial loss to the exchequer.
On May 6, 2025, Principal Special Judge for CBI Cases, Dr. T. Raghuram, convicted Reddy and others. All four were sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, and a fine of Rs. 10,000 each was imposed. The Obulapuram Mining Company, represented by Srinivas Reddy, was also fined Rs. 2 lakh.
The convicts were sent to Cherlapalli Central Prison after the verdict.
Bail Granted to Co-Accused
- B V Srinivas Reddy (MD, Obulapuram Mining Company and Accused No. 1): Granted bail under the same terms as Janardhan Reddy — ₹10 lakh personal bond and two sureties. He too cannot leave the country without permission.
- V D Rajagopal (Retired Director of Mines and Geology, Accused No. 3): Granted bail after submitting a Rs. 1 lakh personal bond with two sureties. The same restriction applies to him.
- K Mehfuz Ali Khan (Partner, M/s. Devi Enterprises and Accused No. 7): Granted bail on ₹10 lakh bond with two sureties, with conditions similar to Reddy and Srinivas Reddy.
The Telangana High Court also suspended the sentence of Obulapuram Mining Company Pvt. Ltd., which had been found guilty and fined Rs. 2 lakh by the CBI court.
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The accused filed five separate criminal appeals in the High Court, challenging the conviction and sentence imposed by the CBI court. The case, which exposed deep-rooted corruption and irregularities in the mining sector, remains one of the most high-profile illegal mining cases in South India.
Senior Advocate P.B. Suresh appeared for the company, Senior Advocate Nagamuthu represented the directors, and Special Public Prosecutor Srinivas Kapatia appeared on behalf of the CBI.
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