The agency probing the illegal mining case against companies owned by the Reddy brothers of Bellary was arguing against a petition filed by one of the brothers to relax one of the bail conditions imposed by the top court restraining him from entering Bellary.
The CBI on Thursday opposed a plea by Janardhana Reddy, before the Supreme Court to relax bail conditions, saying this would instil fear in the mind of people as out of approximately 300 witnesses, 47 are from the district.
New Delhi Permitting illegal mining accused and former Karnataka minister Gali Janardan Reddy to permanently stay in Bellary will convey a wrong message as the trial in the case is yet to begin, said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to the Supreme Court on Thursday.
Additional Solicitor General Madhavi Divan submitted before a bench of Justices Vineet Saran and Dinesh Maheshwari contended that this was a very dangerous trial. The fact that he will stay in Bellary would result in fear in minds of people, she said
She claimed that most of the accused in the mining scam case was high-profile and acted in tandem to get the trial delayed in the case. She said the CBI never opposed his plea to visit Ballari on several occasions due to any exigency.
The agency probing the illegal mining case against companies owned by the Reddy brothers of Bellary was arguing against a petition filed by one of the brothers to relax one of the bail conditions imposed by the top court restraining him from entering Bellary. The Supreme Court had granted bail to Reddy in the illegal mining case on January 20, 2015, more than three years after he was arrested in September 2011.
The bench of Justices Vineet Saran and Dinesh Maheshwari told CBI that if this was true it can record a statement to this effect. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Madhvi Divan appearing for CBI sought time to take instructions and the matter was posted for hearing on Friday.
Rohatgi said, “These restrictions are harsh and amount to externment. For how long can Reddy be kept out of his hometown Bellary. This condition must be waived. With nearly 10,000 documents and 300 witnesses, the trial will not end in the next 10 years if it goes this way.”
