Gali Janardhana Reddy argued that his trial has yet to begin and charges have yet to be filed.
New Delhi:
The Supreme Court today released former Karnataka minister, Gali Janardhan Reddy, on bail after he was arrested in connection with what the CBI called the “most infamous mining scam ever”. The court relaxed his bail conditions and allowed him to stay in his hometown of Ballari, just over 300 kilometers north of the capital Bengaluru.
The Supreme Court said mining lord turned politician will have to inform the chief inspector of police when he visits and leaves the city.
“The trial in the case has not even started and the petitioner has not violated bail conditions so far. Therefore, he is allowed to go to Ballari… Meanwhile, the court can expedite the process in the case,” said a two-year-old court bench of judges Vineet Saran and Dinesh Maheshwari today.
When he released him on bail in 2015 – he was arrested in September 2011 – the Supreme Court ordered him not to visit Ballari, located in the eastern part of the state.
In 2018, he, one of the most powerful men in Karnataka, had even been banned from campaigning in the city for elections. However, he managed to recruit his friend, the BJP’s V Srirmulu, just outside the district.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had resisted his request for permission to visit the city, claiming he would seriously threaten the lives of the 47 witnesses in the case, all residents of Ballari. This, it said, would affect the probe.
Speaking before the CBI, Additional Advocate General Madhvi Divan stated that Reddy had been charged in a case in which he attempted to influence and bribe judges into bail.
In August 2019, a former CBI special judge appeared as a witness in connection with a “cash-for-bail” case in which he was involved, alleging that an offer of Rs 40 crore was made to him in 2012 to bail Reddy bail. to provide.
“The fact that this man (Reddy) will remain permanently in Ballary sends the wrong message. This is one of the most infamous mining scams ever,” Ms Divan said.
However, Reddy argued that the trial in the case had yet to begin and charges had yet to be filed, despite having spent nearly four years in prison. Senior lawyers Mukul Rohatgi and Ranjit Kumar appeared before him in court.
