Telangana high court quashes CBI case against Yerra Srilakshmi

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh special chief secretary Y Srilakshmi got a big relief with Telangana high court on Tuesday setting aside the order of the special CBI court in Hyderabad and discharged her from the decade-old illegal mining case involving Obulapuram Mining Company of mining baron and former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy.
Quashing the CBI court order refusing to discharge Srilakshmi from the CBI case, Justice Chillakur Sumalatha said that there was not enough material to substantiate the allegations made by the CBI in the chargesheet against her.
"There are no grounds to frame charges against Srilakshmi either under IPC provisions or under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act," the judge said in her order.
She should be discharged from the charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and the provisions of PCA, Justice Sumalatha said. However, the judge hastened to add that the trial court could verify whether any other provisions of law could be applied to Srilakshmi during the course of the trial.
Justice Sumalatha summoned the records pertaining to the case along with the chargesheet of the CBI. She verified whether there was any basis for the allegations levelled against the senior IAS officer.
Srilakshmi's counsel K Raghavacharyulu said that reserving mines for private companies in the name of captive mining was an unlawful act and it was absurd to ask courts to punish a bureaucrat for not reserving mines in favour of private companies.
It may be recalled the CBI had charged Srilakshmi with unlawfully helping two cement companies in the quid pro quo case too. While the high court struck down the case against her in the Dalmia Cements case under IPC provisions after describing it as baseless, the same in respect of Penna Cements was still pending and did not reach the charges framing stage.
The CBI's charge against Srilakshmi is that she, as secretary of AP's industry and mines department in 2004, sidelined several competitors in the mining field and granted iron ore mining lease in over 110 hectares in Anantapur district to Gali's OMC.