OMC illegal mining case: Telangana HC issues notice to ex-minister

Hyderabad, Aug 18 (IANS) The Telangana High Court on Monday issued notices to former Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy and ex-IAS officer B. Kripanandam on a petition filed by the CBI challenging their acquittal by a lower court in the Obulapuram illegal mining case.

The High Court took up the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) petition for hearing and ordered Sabitha Indra Reddy and Kripanandam to file the counters.

The hearing in the case has been adjourned to next month.

The CBI has sought quashing of the May 8 order of the special CBI court, which declared the then Mines Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy and then Industries Secretary Kripanandam as innocent.

Sabitha Indra Reddy and Kripanandam were the third and eighth accused in the case, respectively.

The CBI challenged their acquittal on the ground that they were involved in a conspiracy to allocate mining leases to the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) in Obulapuram and Antaragangamma Hills in Anantapur district. The agency argued that they played a key role in the lease of 885 hectares, which helped OMC illegally move 20.32 lakh tonnes of ore.

The case, registered by the CBI 16 years ago, related to illegal mining by OMC in the Anantapur district of undivided Andhra Pradesh.

The CBI special court in May awarded seven-year imprisonment to BJP MLA from Karnataka Gali Janardan Reddy, his relative and OMC Managing Director B.V. Srinivas Reddy, then Director of the Mining Department D. Rajagopal, and Janardan Reddy’s personal assistant, Ali Khan.

Sabitha Indra Reddy, who was the home minister of Andhra Pradesh when the case was registered, and retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer B. Krupanandam were acquitted of the charges framed against them due to lack of evidence.

In June, the Telangana High Court suspended the sentence and granted conditional bail to the convicts.

The High Court on July 25 dismissed the petition of IAS officer Y. Srilakshmi for discharge in the case.

The top bureaucrat, currently serving in the government of Andhra Pradesh, had filed a revision petition challenging the CBI special court order of October 2022, dismissing a petition filed by her seeking a direction to discharge her as an accused in the case.

She is accused number six in the case in 2009 case.

While pronouncing its order in May, the CBI special court did not pass the verdict on the alleged role of IAS officer Y. Srilakshmi in the case, as she had approached the High Court challenging the order of the special court.

--IANS

ms/dpb