HC quashes ED report on Reddy's wealth

The Karnataka High Court on Monday quashed the Enforcement Directorate report attaching the property of former minister Gali Janardhana Reddy and his company.

Probing the illegal mining case, the ED had attached industries, mines and shares belonging to Reddy and his company, worth more than Rs 900 crore. The court said the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), filed by the ED, was not maintainable.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice R B Budihal quashed the report, hearing a petition filed by Obalapuram Mining Company, Reddy, his wife G Lakshmi Aruna and Bramhani Industries.

The petitioners had challenged the report submitted to the CBI court after Reddy and his company were booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code dealing with cheating, forgery, receiving stolen property and criminal conspiracy.

The prosecution had also invoked Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (criminal misconduct by a public servant), since Reddy had been a minister in the Yeddyurappa-led BJP government.

‘Charged retrospectively’
In his petition, Reddy had contended the ED was not authorised to attach his property under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002 as the charges against him were not part of the “scheduled offences” under that law.