The Supreme Court on Monday finally dismissed the bail petition of Andhra Pradesh’s senior IAS officer Y. Srilakshmi, named as a co-accused by the CBI in former Karn-ataka minister Gali Jana-rdhan Reddy’s Obula-puram illegal mining case.
A bench, comprising Justices H.L. Dattu and C.K. Prasad, said no merit was found in her petition to grant bail at this stage, as the trial court had been seized of the chargesheet.
The apex court rejected the argument of Ms Srilakshmi’s counsel, senior advocate L.N. Rao, that she had already been in judicial custody for 90 days, which entitled her to bail. Her bail was earlier cancelled by the AP High Court on January 2.
However, the apex court permitted Ms Srilakshmi to file a fresh bail petition before the special court in Hyderabad, which would pass an “appropriate” order considering the facts and the circumstances of the case “without being influenced” by any observations of the HC’s cancellation order.
The CBI charged Ms Srilakshmi with helping Mr Janardhan Reddy in illegal mining in the Bellary area when she had been the secretary of the mining department, AP government.
The top court had deferred hearing on her bail petition several times in the past.