In a major judgment, a CBI special court has sentenced former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy to seven years’ imprisonment for his involvement in the Obulapuram illegal mining case. He was joined by prime accused Srinivas Reddy, Rajagopal, Ali Khan, and the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) in the court’s verdict. Srinivas Reddy also got a seven-year jail term.
The high-profile case revealed extensive illegal iron ore mining and export operations along the Karnataka–Andhra Pradesh border, with grave allegations that state borders were modified to facilitate the illegal operations. Authorities did nothing despite the extent of the scam for years. The CBI initiated its probe in 2009, and the then CBI Joint Director Lakshminarayana arrested Janardhan Reddy in Bellary. He remained in jail almost for two years before he obtained bail.
Significantly, other key people who were originally named in the case, such as former minister Sabitha Indra Reddy and retired IAS officer Kripanandam, were acquitted by the court. IAS officer Srilakshmi had previously been let off the case by the High Court.
Janardhan Reddy made an emotional appeal to the judge during the sentencing, asking for leniency by saying that thousands of employees and families rely on his businesses.
But Reddy’s legal woes are far from over. Other cases, including charges of bribing judges to secure bail, are pending against him.
This judgment is a landmark moment in India’s battle against illegal mining and graft, upholding accountability for infamous players in environmental and economic offenses.
