New Delhi, Sept 5: The Supreme Court on Monday declined a plea by mining baron and former Karnataka Minister G Janardhana Reddy to live in Ballari.
A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan dismissed an application by Reddy to relax the conditions of bail. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Reddy sought modification of January 21, 2015 orders whereby the apex court had granted him bail but with conditions that he would not visit Ballari , Ananthpuram and Cuddapah. He said since no charges have been framed so far in the matter and trial would take long time to complete, Reddy, now living in Bengaluru, should be permitted to reside in Ballari as his other family members are living there.
Rohatgi also said the case involving Obulapuram Mining Company could not proceed further as the issue pertaining to boundary between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to ascertain extent of illegality of iron ore extraction was still pending before the apex court.
Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh ,however , opposed the plea saying Reddy was granted bail on the very condition that he would not visit Ballari. He also pointed out a special CBI judge has lost his job in the case against Reddy. He was indicating to a separate CBI case in which it alleged money was paid to grant of bail to Reddy.
Though Rohatgi said the court had earlier granted permission to Reddy to visit Ballari on earlier occasions, the court did not see merit in his plea to allow him to permanently live over there.
The court had in 2015 allowed bail to Reddy in an illegal mining case involving Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) after the CBI did not oppose his plea. The court had then directed Reddy to cooperate in the smooth process of trial and appear before CBI special court in Hyderabad, trying the case. It ordered Reddy to furnish two sureties of Rs 10 lakh each as condition for bail.
Reddy and his brother-in-law B V Srinivas Reddy, Managing Director of OMC, were arrested by CBI on September 5, 2011 from Bellary in adjoining Karnataka and brought to Hyderabad. He along with co-accused also faced five other cases.
In the OMC case, the company was accused of changing mining lease boundary markings and indulging in illegal mining in the Bellary Reserve Forest area, spread over Bellari and Ananthpuram district.
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