Telangana HC suspends conviction, sentence of Gali Janardhan Reddy in illegal mining case

Justice K. Lakshman of the Telangana High Court on Wednesday suspended the conviction and the sentence of seven years imprisonment awarded by a CBI special court here to Gali Janardhan Reddy in the illegal mining case involving Obulapuram Mining Company. The judge granted bail to three other convicts in the case — V. Dasari Raj Gopal, B.V. Sreenivasa Reddy and K. Mehfuz Ali Khan.

Having heard for two days the two interlocutory applications filed by Janardhan Reddy appealing against the special court verdict, the judge granted him conditional bail. The judge directed Janardhan Reddy to furnish a personal bond with two sureties, each of ₹10 lakh, at the Principal Special Judge for CBI Cases, Hyderabad Court. Mr. Reddy should not leave the country without HC’s permission, and he should not indulge in criminal acts during the bail period, were the other two conditions.

Observing that the contentions and grounds raised by Mr. Reddy can be heard at the time of hearing the main appeal, the judge said “..this Court is of the view that if the conviction is not suspended there is likelihood of the Election Commission of India issuing notification for conduct of by-election to the aforesaid constituency”.