Nearly six months after being whisked away from his home in Bellary to Hyderabad in the early hours of September 5, 2011 by the CBI, former Karnataka tourism minister Gali Janardhan Reddy will for the first time, make an appearence in a court here on Friday morning.

Sources said he will be produced at a magistrate’s home early Friday morning at around 2 am when he arrives from Hyderabad by road after a six-hour drive. Reddy who once lorded over state politics with his financial clout and flew in and out of the city in his own private helicopter, had the ignominy of seeing his application to fly to the IT City, being turned down.

The mine baron will be kept at a secret location during his stay in the city and driven to the special CBI court here at around 11.30 am A huge contingent from Bellary including his family and supporters are likely to be present at the court premises for a glimpse of the jailed mine baron who is facing trial in a multi-crore illegal mining scam.

Sources said the CBI will be seeking his custody in connection with the illegalities involving Associated Mining Company (AMC) owned by Reddy and his wife Gali Lakshmi Aruna He may be taken to Bellary, his hometown for interrogation after this.

Earlier on Thursday, Reddy had moved a petition through his counsel in the Special Court for CBI cases, seeking a directive to the Chanchalguda jail officials in Hyderabad to shift him to Bengaluru by air considering his safety and the long distance at his 'own cost'.

The court left it to the jail authorities to take a decision on this saying the petition may be considered if shifting by air is not prohibited under AP jail rules. The jail authorities turned down his plea.

After his arrest in September last year, the CBI had registered an FIR against Reddy and others on October 1 last year on the directions of the Supreme Court.

CBI may push for Gali’s custody

The CBI officials are likely to produce former minister Gali Janardhana Reddy before the CBI special court in the city today. Sources said the CBI will be seeking his custody in connection with the illegalities involving Associated Mining Company (AMC) owned by Gali Janardhan Reddy and his wife Aruna Laxmi and 12 other mining firms.

Sources said the CBI might produce Mr Reddy at the residence of the magistrate early on Friday and take him to Bellary for interrogation. The areas in which AMC carried out mining activity spread across Bellary district.

Earlier in the day, Mr Reddy had moved a petition through his counsel in the Special Court for CBI cases urging the court to direct Chanchalguda jail authorities to shift him to Bengaluru by air in view of safety consideration and long distance at his “own cost”.

However, the court left it to the Chanchalguda jail authorities to decide stating that the petition may be considered if it (shifting by air) is not prohibited under the AP Jail Rules or under any other law.

The CBI had registered an FIR against Mr Reddy and others on October 1 last year on the directions of the Supreme Court. The Parappana Agrahara prison officials said that though there were rumours that Mr Reddy will be brought to the prison, it will be decided by the CBI court.

The CBI officials are likely to request for custodial inquiry of Mr Reddy in connection with the allegations in the AMC case.

According to CBI, AMC was granted lease for 30 years in 1966 for mining in 16.9 hectare of land in Venkatagiri village. After the expiry of the lease in 1996, no efforts made to renew the lease for four years.

The owner of the company applied for renewal of the lease and the then minister for mines and geology Mr Muniyappa, overruled the noting of secretary mines, and renewed the lease in 2003 for 10 years from 2000 to 2010 leaving the period between 1996 and 2000 uncovered, in stark violation of the MMRD Act.

Mr Shivalinga Murthy, was indicted for submitting 'incorrect information' to the Indian Bureau of Mines regarding the facts of lease period and its renewal. Since this first renewal of lease, the AMC was taken over by new partners G. Lakshmi Aruna and G. Janaradhana Reddy, and a ‘pool of irregularities’, as described in the Dr U.V. Singh report, began.