Illegal Mining Case: IAS Officer Srilakshmi Gets No Relief from Telangana High Court
Srilakshmi, who is currently serving in the Andhra Pradesh government, had challenged the decision of a special CBI court in October 2022 in which the charges were upheld against her.
Hyderabad: Senior Andhra Pradesh IAS officer Y Srilakshmi got a major setback on Friday when the Telangana High Court dismissed her petition in the Obalapuram Mining Company (OMC) case. The case pertains to illegal mining, in which several high-profile figures have been accused of serious charges.
Srilakshmi, who is currently serving in the Andhra Pradesh government, had challenged the decision of a special CBI court in October 2022 in which the charges were upheld against her. She had pleaded with the court to acquit herself of the charges, but the High Court today rejected her plea.
The case dates back to 2009, in which Srilakshmi is the sixth accused. In this case, on May 6, 2025, a special CBI court sentenced four people, including Karnataka BJP MLA Gali Janardhan Reddy, to seven years in prison. The court did not pronounce any verdict on Srilakshmi’s role at that time as she had approached the High Court challenging the verdict.
The Supreme Court had in May 2025 sent Srilakshmi’s review petition back to the High Court and given it three months to decide. Meanwhile, the CBI had argued in the court that Srilakshmi, who was then the Industries Secretary, had demanded huge bribes from other candidates in mining licenses to benefit OMC and its promoters Gali Janardhan Reddy and BV Srinivas Reddy. The CBI has alleged that she worked in collusion with the then Director of Mines VD Rajagopal and illegally issued licenses to OMC.
The case was registered by the CBI 16 years ago in connection with the illegal mining of OMC in Anantapur district of undivided Andhra Pradesh. In a verdict delivered on May 6, a special CBI court convicted Janardhan Reddy, BV Srinivas Reddy, VD Rajagopal, and Ali Khan and sentenced them to seven years in prison.
On the other hand, the then Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy and retired IAS officer B. Krupapanandam were acquitted of the charges due to lack of evidence. Later, the Telangana High Court suspended the sentence and granted conditional bail to the convicts.
