Mining scam: SC permits Ex-Karnataka minister Gali Janardhana Reddy to visit ailing father-in-law
New Delhi, Jun 7: Former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy, an accused in a multi-crore rupee illegal mining case, was Friday allowed by the Supreme Court to visit his hometown Ballari to see his ailing father-in-law.
A vacation bench comprising Justices Indira Banerjee and Ajay Rastogi however expressed concern over the delay in framing of charges and starting of the trial in the Rs 35,000 crore mining scam.
"We are concerned as to why charges have not been framed and trial yet not started," the bench said while pulling up the CBI, the prosecuting agency in the case.
The bench, which permitted Reddy to attend to his father-in-law for two weeks from June 8, refused however to consider his request seeking dilution of the previous condition barring him to visit Ballari, Karnataka, without the court's prior nod.
Senior advocate S Ganesh, appearing for Reddy, said on several occasions he has been permitted to visit Ballari and there was not a single complaint that he violated bail conditions.
"This time, his father-in-law had suffered a stroke. He had undergone three bypass surgeries. His medical condition is extremely precarious and he was lying in ICU of a hospital over there," the lawyer said.
During the brief hearing, the lawyer also said that despite the apex court direction of July 2016 to speed up the trial, it has not even started as the charges are yet to be framed.
Additional Solicitor General Madhavi Divan, who appeared for the probe agency, opposed the plea for relaxation of restrictions imposed on Reddy on his visit to Ballari and said that he was the main accused in the case.
"Why charges were not framed for six years. We are concerned about the delay," the bench asked.
The charges could not be framed because few other co-accused have filed pleas seeking discharge from the case and they are still pending, the law officer said, adding that CBI would like to file a detailed reply in the case.
The court said however that it would only deal with Reddy's plea seeking its nod to visit Ballari.
The apex court in March had dismissed Reddy's plea to modify his bail condition over Ballari visit.
He was granted conditional bail by the apex court in January 2015 after spending more than three years in jail, and directed not to visit his hometown Ballari as well as Anantapur and Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh.
Reddy and his brother-in-law B V Srinivas Reddy, managing director of the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), were arrested by CBI on September 5, 2011 from Ballari and brought to Hyderabad.
The company is accused of changing mining lease boundary markings and indulging in illegal mining in the Ballari Reserve Forest area, spread over Ballari and Anantapur district.
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No need for guv: DMK leader Kanimozhi
Chennai (PTI): Senior DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Friday reiterated her party’s opposition to the office of the governor amid uncertainty over government formation in Tamil Nadu after a fractured election mandate.
Speaking to PTI Videos, Kanimozhi emphasised that the DMK’s demand for the abolition of the governor’s post remained unchanged, especially as questions arise over constitutional propriety during the current political transition.
"Our position that we do not need a governor at all is something the DMK has never changed at any point in time," she said.
When asked about the governor’s actions following the election results—particularly the delay in inviting the leading party to form the government—Kanimozhi pointed to what she described as the "inherent friction" between the office of the governor and the political interests of the state.
She said the current situation "raises a lot of questions" and requires introspection regarding constitutional procedures.
Kanimozhi described the election results as lacking a "clear mandate", which she identified as the primary reason for the prevailing political uncertainty in the state.
"What the people decide is supreme," she said, adding that while the mandate was not decisive, it must be respected.
The Thoothukudi MP attributed the ongoing delays and "many confusions" to the absence of a decisive majority for any single party.
She firmly dismissed rumours about the DMK potentially supporting the AIADMK from outside to help stabilise the government.
She described such reports as mere "speculation" and "rumours".
"We can’t be responding to every rumour," she said, declining to comment on the AIADMK’s claims regarding its numbers to form the government.
The political situation in Tamil Nadu remains fluid as stakeholders await the governor’s next constitutional step in an Assembly where no party has secured a clear majority.
The DMK and AIADMK—both of which suffered significant losses to the TVK—are reportedly exploring tactical manoeuvres to navigate the hung Assembly.
The TVK, with 108 seats and the support of Congress’s five MLAs, is still short of the majority mark. The DMK and AIADMK secured 59 and 47 seats, respectively.
