<p>The Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) request to appeal against the discharge of Lakshmi Aruna, wife of former minister G Janardhana Reddy, in the Associated Mining Company (AMC) case has been turned down by the Centre. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Sources said that almost eight months after a Special CBI court discharged Aruna and IAS officer M E Shivalingamurthy in the AMC case, the Directorate of Prosecution under the Ministry of Law and Justice has only cleared the appeal against Shivalingamurthy.<br /><br />In 2012, the CBI filed the charge sheet against Reddy, Aruna, the then director of Mines and Geology Shivalingamurthy, the then deputy director of Mines and Geology S P Raju, Reddy's personal assistant Mehfooz Ali Khan, the then range forest officer Mahesh Patil and deputy conservator of forests S Muthaiah. The CBI court had discharged Aruna and Shivalingamurthy before the stage of hearing the charge.<br /><br />The court held that though Aruna had signed on the documents pertaining to the businesses of AMC, the prosecution could not establish the guilty mind behind the act. <br /><br />The CBI (Bengaluru) had sent a proposal to file an appeal against the discharge of the accused before the High Court. After much efforts, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has accorded permission to challenge discharge of Shivalingamurthy. CBI sources say that the Directorate of Prosecution had sent the report to the DoPT for a final decision. <br /><br />It is learnt the Directorate of Prosecution has opined that there is lack of evidence to suggest criminal intent of Aruna in signing documents related to illegal activities of the company. She was one of the directors of AMC.<br /><br />The CBI had stated that the illegal mining carried out by AMC had caused a loss of Rs 480 crore to the state exchequer. The charge sheet stated that Aruna and Reddy took over the AMC in July 2009 and with illegal mineral dispatch permits, the company carried out mining, transportation and export of iron ore. The CBI case was that the company had mined 6.28 lakh MT. Sources confirmed that soon an appeal will be filed challenging the discharge of Shivalingamurthy.<br /><br />Deccan Mining case<br />Meanwhile, the CBI is awaiting clearance to challenge the dropping of charges against all the accused in Deccan Mining Syndicate Pvt Ltd (DMS) case. A CBI special court had dropped charges against all the accused in the Rs 1,232-crore iron ore mining case against DMS. The CBI had filed the charge sheet in 2013. <br /><br />The other accused in the case were CEO of DMS Ritesh Milap Chand Jain, its Managing Director Rajendra Kumar Jain, the then Secretary, Commerce and Industries Shamim Banu, the then Principal Secretary M Vishwanathan, Deputy Director, Mines and Geology S K Raju and police inspector Ramakant Y Hullur.<br />DH News Service<br /></p>
<p>The Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) request to appeal against the discharge of Lakshmi Aruna, wife of former minister G Janardhana Reddy, in the Associated Mining Company (AMC) case has been turned down by the Centre. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Sources said that almost eight months after a Special CBI court discharged Aruna and IAS officer M E Shivalingamurthy in the AMC case, the Directorate of Prosecution under the Ministry of Law and Justice has only cleared the appeal against Shivalingamurthy.<br /><br />In 2012, the CBI filed the charge sheet against Reddy, Aruna, the then director of Mines and Geology Shivalingamurthy, the then deputy director of Mines and Geology S P Raju, Reddy's personal assistant Mehfooz Ali Khan, the then range forest officer Mahesh Patil and deputy conservator of forests S Muthaiah. The CBI court had discharged Aruna and Shivalingamurthy before the stage of hearing the charge.<br /><br />The court held that though Aruna had signed on the documents pertaining to the businesses of AMC, the prosecution could not establish the guilty mind behind the act. <br /><br />The CBI (Bengaluru) had sent a proposal to file an appeal against the discharge of the accused before the High Court. After much efforts, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has accorded permission to challenge discharge of Shivalingamurthy. CBI sources say that the Directorate of Prosecution had sent the report to the DoPT for a final decision. <br /><br />It is learnt the Directorate of Prosecution has opined that there is lack of evidence to suggest criminal intent of Aruna in signing documents related to illegal activities of the company. She was one of the directors of AMC.<br /><br />The CBI had stated that the illegal mining carried out by AMC had caused a loss of Rs 480 crore to the state exchequer. The charge sheet stated that Aruna and Reddy took over the AMC in July 2009 and with illegal mineral dispatch permits, the company carried out mining, transportation and export of iron ore. The CBI case was that the company had mined 6.28 lakh MT. Sources confirmed that soon an appeal will be filed challenging the discharge of Shivalingamurthy.<br /><br />Deccan Mining case<br />Meanwhile, the CBI is awaiting clearance to challenge the dropping of charges against all the accused in Deccan Mining Syndicate Pvt Ltd (DMS) case. A CBI special court had dropped charges against all the accused in the Rs 1,232-crore iron ore mining case against DMS. The CBI had filed the charge sheet in 2013. <br /><br />The other accused in the case were CEO of DMS Ritesh Milap Chand Jain, its Managing Director Rajendra Kumar Jain, the then Secretary, Commerce and Industries Shamim Banu, the then Principal Secretary M Vishwanathan, Deputy Director, Mines and Geology S K Raju and police inspector Ramakant Y Hullur.<br />DH News Service<br /></p>