HC quashes case against senior IAS officer Srilakshmi

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday quashed a case filed by the CBI against senior IAS officer Y Srilakshmi in the sensational case of Obulapuram Mining Company, owned by former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy.

Setting aside the order of the Court of Principal Special Judge for CBI cases here, the high court said there are no grounds for framing the charges against the petitioner for the offences punishable under Section 120-8 r/w 4O9 IPC and Section 13 (2) r/w 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The CBI had filed a charge sheet in 2011 accusing her of clearing the mining lease at Obulapuram in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh in favour of OMC while overlooking bids made by other mining companies.

In November 2011, the probe agency had also arrested Srilakshmi on charges of abusing her official position and favouring OMC in 2007. Later, she was released on bail after spending several months in a local prison. She was secretary of Industries and Mines then.

The CBI had registered the case against the company on December 7, 2009 at the request of AP government.