Hyderabad: Karnataka BJP MLA and mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy has been disqualified as a member of state legislative assembly after he was pronounced guilty in the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) illegal mining case.
The decision was taken by Karnataka Assembly Secretary M.K. Vishalakshi after the Special CBI Court in Hyderabad sentenced Janardhan Reddy to seven years of imprisonment.
The conviction was delivered on 6 May by the Principal Special Judge for cases of CBI. He was held guilty in CC No. 1 of 2012. Reddy was the MLA from Gangavathi constituency of the Karnataka Assembly. His disqualification dates back to the conviction date as per Article 191(1)(e) of the Constitution and Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Unless a higher court stays the sentence, Janardhan Reddy will remain disqualified for six more years after completing his prison term, the notification clarified. The Assembly also formally declared the Gangavathi seat vacant.
The Hyderabad CBI court sentenced Reddy and four others B.V. Srinivas Reddy, V.D. Rajagopal, K. Mehfuz Ali Khan, and OMC itself to seven years in jail. Each convict was also fined ₹1 lakh. The group was found guilty of orchestrating large-scale illegal mining operations in Obulapuram, a case that dates back over a decade.
Janardhan Reddy had joined the BJP just ahead of the last Karnataka Assembly elections and won from Gangavathi. His conviction stems from a series of CBI investigations launched in 2009 at the request of the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh government. The first chargesheet was filed in 2011.
In total, nine individuals were named in the case. B.V. Srinivas Reddy was listed as Accused No. 1 (A1), with Gali Janardhan Reddy as A2, former mines department director V.D. Rajagopal as A3, OMC as A4, Lingareddy as A5, IAS officer Y. Srilakshmi as A6, Mehfuz Ali Khan (Reddy’s personal aide) as A7, former IAS officer K. Kripanandam as A8, and ex-minister Sabitha Indra Reddy as A9.
Over 219 witnesses were examined, and the court reviewed more than 3,400 documents before reaching its verdict.