Supreme Court rejects Janardhana Reddy’s plea to campaign in Ballari for Karnataka elections

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected controversial mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy’s appeal to visit Ballari and campaign for his younger brother Gali Somashekhara Reddy, who is contesting the Karnataka elections from the seat as a candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Janardhan Reddy is on bail and cannot visit Ballari (formerly Bellary), the court said. Janardhan wanted to visit the place on May 8 and 9 and on May 12, when assembly elections take place.

Gali Karunakar Reddy, the eldest of the three brothers, is the BJP candidate in Harpanahalli. BJP leader B Sreeramulu, who is considered close to the brothers and is a Lok Sabha member from Ballari, is contesting the Badami seat against chief minister Siddaramaiah.

Janaradhana Reddy, who is an accused in an illegal mining case, was arrested twice: once in 2011 and then again in 2015. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court in 2015.