BLA from Karnataka Gali Janardan Reddy. File
| Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court in Hyderabad on Tuesday (May 6, 2025) awarded seven-year imprisonment to four persons, including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Karnataka Gali Janardan Reddy, and his relative B.V. Srinivas Reddy, managing director, Obulapuram Mining Corporation (OMC), in a case of illegal mining in Anantapur district of undivided Andhra Pradesh. The case was registered by the CBI nearly 16 years ago.

Sabitha Indra Reddy, 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. IAS officer Y. Srilakshmi has already received relief in the same case as the Telangana High Court allowed her discharge petition in November 2022.

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Ms. Indra Reddy later joined the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), served as a Minister in the erstwhile BRS government, and is currently the Maheshwaram MLA from that party.

Among those convicted are V.D. Rajagopal, then Director of the Mining Department, and Janardan Reddy’s personal assistant, Ali Khan. A fine of ₹10,000 each was also imposed on Rajagopal, Khan, Janardan Reddy, and Srinivas Reddy. A fine of ₹2 lakh has been imposed on OMC for alleged illegalities.

The OMC excavated iron ore in Obulapuram village in the Ballari reserve forest area of Anantapur district along the Andhra Pradesh-Karnataka border. The Congress government in 2009 lodged a complaint with the Centre alleging that the company was mining iron ore in violation of all rules. It was alleged that the OMC was illegally extracting minerals in areas beyond its permitted jurisdiction.

The CBI registered a case on December 7, 2009. After two years of investigation, it filed a chargesheet in 2011, accusing the OMC of indulging in illegal mining to the tune of ₹884.13 crore. The CBI examined 219 witnesses and presented 3,400 documents. One of the nine accused, Linga Reddy, died during the trial period.

The case took many twists and turns after the First Information Report (FIR) was lodged in 2009. The accused moved the High Court and secured orders staying the probe against them. The investigating agency then appealed to the Division Bench and had the orders vacated. This resulted in a prolonged legal battle. The CBI filed four chargesheets in the case from 2009 to 2014. The chargesheet said OMC exported the iron ore it extracted to other countries illegally, and indulged in benami transactions.