Setback for Reddys as HC okays illegal mining probe
17 Dec 2010
The Andhra Pradesh high court yesterday granted permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe allegations of illegal mining of iron ore in both Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Obulapuram Mining Co (OMC), owned by BJP leader and Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy and his brother and fellow-minister Gali Karunakar Reddy, will particularly come under the CBI scanner.
The two-member bench of chief justice Nisar Ahmad Kakru and justice Vilas V Afzalpurkar set aside an earlier stay on the CBI probe, imposed by a single judge bench of the same court.
The court order will empower the CBI to look into the aspects of not only illegal mining in areas leased to OMC but also evasion of royalty, road tax and other revenues, which has reportedly cost the Andhra Pradesh exchequer a loss of over Rs3,200 crore.
The high court order clears the way for CBI's Delhi-based special task force to probe into the mining irregularities in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh and Bellary in Karnataka, where the Reddy brothers are most active.
The CBI was first directed to inquire into the issue on 7 December 2009, but within a week, following an OMC application, a single judge of the court had stayed the probe.
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