Illegal mining case: HC dismisses revision petition filed by ex mines director

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court dismissed a revision petition filed by V.D. Rajagopal, then director of mines and geology department in undivided Andhra Pradesh, who had challenged the CBI court orders which had refused to discharge him from CBI cases related to the illegal mining case involving former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy’s Obulapuram Mining Company.

The single judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was not inclined to give any relief to Rajagopal, who pointed out that the High Court had allowed the revision petition of Y. Sri Lakshmi, senior IAS officer, and discharged her name in the case. She was secretary, mining, when iron ore mining contracts were allotted to OMC.

The High Court considered the contentions of CBI counsel Nagendra, who had submitted that Rajagopal was hand-in-glove with Janardhan Reddy and had played a key role in allotting lease in Anantapur district. He had also informed the court that 20 days before Rajagopal took over as mines director, his brother-in-law had joined Janardhan Reddy’s firm.

Rajagopal had not considered 23 applications filed by other companies for the contract and unilaterally recommended OMC, the CBI said. The court had reserved the orders on February 10.