Bail granted to Janardana Reddy by the Apex Court in the Bellary illegal mining scam case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to the Former Karnataka Minister Janardhan Reddy who has been implicated in the illegal Bellary mining scandal involving his company.

   Mr. Reddy had sought bail on the ground of his poor health among other reasons. Also the former Minister had been in jail for more than three years weighed with the Apex Court in exercising its discretion in favour of granting bail to Mr. Reddy.

  

   The company (OMC) is accused of changing mining lease boundary markings and indulging in illegal mining in the Bellary Reserve Forest area, spread over Bellary in Karnataka and Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. Apart from this, Mr. Reddy is facing several criminal cases and is now lodged in a jail in Andhra Pradesh.

  The Supreme Court had said last July that if trial of the case involving Mr.Reddy was not completed in six months, it would consider giving bail to him. In the hearing on November 28, the Court had indicated it could consider granting conditional bail to Reddy.

   In 2013, Reddy had moved the Apex Court challenging the High Court judgment rejecting his bail application.

   Though he was free to walk out of the prison, Reddy was directed by the court not to visit his home town Ballari and Kadapa where his Obalapuram Mining Company is situated and surrender his passport to the court.

   The Court has also asked him to pay Rs. 20 lakh cash as surety and directed him to cooperate with the investigations and present himself before the investigating officer and the court without fail.

Mr.Reddy has already been granted bail by a special CBI court in five cases registered against him in connection with illegal export of ore from Belikeri port, Karwar.