'I was offered 40 cr to free mining baron on bail'

Former CBI special judge B Naga Maruti Sarma deposed before the ACB court principal special judge in a cash-for-bail case and claimed that he was offered Rs 40 crore to set mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy free on bail, according to a Times of India report.

Sarma’s successor T Pattabhi Rama Rao and a High Court judicial officer were later trapped by law-enforcing agencies for accepting the alleged bribe to grant bail to Reddy.

The alleged bribe offer was made by then AP High Court registrar (enquiries) K Lakshmi Narasimha Rao reportedly on behalf of Gali’s men in April 2012. The mining baron was then under judicial custody at the Chanchalguda jail after his arrest in 2011 by the CBI in an illegal mining case, the report said.

“I rejected the offer outright and walked out of the house of the registrar," said Sarma, deposing as a witness. He later dismissed Gali’s bail plea, which was pending before him.

The case is in the trial stage and the ACB special court (Hyderabad), which recorded Sarma’s evidence, posted it to Sept. 13 for further hearing, the report said.