The Supreme Court on Monday permitted former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy, accused in the multi-crore illegal iron ore mining scam, to visit Bellary, but only for a month.
A division bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice M R Shah and Justice Krishna Murari ruled that Gali could go to Bellary to meet his daughter but only till November 6.
Gali had sought permission from the Supreme Court to visit Bellary to meet his daughter who recently gave birth to a girl.
However, the court directed that Gali should remain out of Bellary for the rest of the period till the trial is completed. It directed the special court to conduct trial on a day-to-day basis and complete the whole exercise in six months from November 9, 2022.
The apex court said any attempt on the part of Reddy to delay the trial should be dealt with iron hands.
Reddy and his brother-in-law B V Srinivas Reddy, managing director of the Obalapuram Mining Company (OMC), were arrested by CBI on September 5, 2011, in a multi-crore illegal mining case.
The company 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 the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.
Reddy has been out on bail since 2015 and several conditions were imposed by the apex court in its order, including prohibiting him from visiting Bellary in Karnataka and Anantapur and Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh.
While granting bail, the top court had directed him to surrender his passport before the trial court concerned and not to leave the country without the permission of the trial judge.