A CBI court has sentenced ex-Karnataka Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy and three others to seven years in prison concerning the Obulapuram illegal mining case. Reddy, elected as an MLA from Gangawati in May 2023 as a Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha member, returned to the BJP on March 25, 2024. Along with the 7-year prison sentence, each convict was fined ₹10,000, and the company involved was ordered to pay ₹1 lakh. Reddy, listed as the second accused, was taken into custody by the CBI immediately after the verdict. 

Nearly 14 years after the CBI filed its charges, a special court has delivered its verdict in a case involving illegal mining in the Bellary Reserve Forest, located along the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border. The case centred around allegations that Janardhan Reddy and others manipulated mining lease boundaries to carry out unauthorised mining operations. The court found Srinivas Reddy (A1), Managing Director of Obulapuram Mining Company and Reddy's brother-in-law, guilty along with VD Rajagopal (A3), and Mehafuz Ali Khan (A7), Reddy’s personal assistant and a former Assistant Director of Mines and Geology. However, former minister Sabitha Indra Reddy and retired bureaucrat B. Krupanandam were acquitted by Judge T Raghu Ram, who presides over CBI cases. According to the prosecution, the illegal mining activities between 2007 and 2009 led to a loss of ₹884 crore to the public treasury. 

Gali Janardhan Reddy, once a Karnataka minister and a powerful figure in the iron ore business, especially around Bellary, has long been a controversial figure due to various legal troubles. His political and business career took a hit after he was accused of being involved in illegal mining, tax fraud, and corruption. He was arrested in 2011 after a Lokayukta report exposed his role in unlawful mining operations that reportedly caused immense financial damage to the state. Although he was granted bail in 2015, the court placed strict restrictions on his movement, including a ban on entering places like Ballari. 

Gali Janardhan Reddy, a mining magnate, made headlines in 2016 for spending an estimated US$75 million (₹625,593,750) on his daughter Brahmani and Rajeev Reddy's wedding. In 2011, during a police raid on Reddy's residence, authorities uncovered several luxury features, including an indoor swimming pool, a massage parlour, a home theatre, and even a bomb shelter. Reports from Hindustan Times also stated that Reddy’s private helicopter, Rukmini, and several of his cars were confiscated during the raid. During the raid on Reddy's home, police found a “throne” weighing approximately 15kg. The chair was said to have Reddy’s initials, GJR, monogrammed in diamonds, and Reddy claimed he had even been “crowned” in a secret ceremony. According to Hindustan Times, at the time of the raids, police seized 30kg of gold. Reports suggest that Reddy’s shirts were made with real gold threads, each valued at over US$1,300. He was also known for wearing a belt encrusted with jewels, worth around US$17,500.

The Obulapuram Mining Scam involves illegal iron ore mining and extensive tax evasion linked to the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), which is owned by the influential Reddy brothers from Karnataka, including former minister Gali Janardhan Reddy, along with their close ally, former state health minister B Sriramulu. 

Investigations uncovered that OMC entered into a questionable agreement with a Singapore-based shell company, GLA Trading International (GLATI), to underreport sales and avoid taxes in India. GLATI, with offices in tax havens such as Singapore, Dubai, and the British Virgin Islands, was somewhat controlled by Gali Janardhan Reddy. The arrangement involved complex transactions aimed at hiding income and avoiding the payment of royalties, which resulted in significant financial losses for the government. In 2009, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initiated an investigation, following orders from the central and Andhra Pradesh governments. This came after income tax raids revealed under-invoicing and money laundering activities amounting to crores of rupees.