Supreme Court grants interim relief to IAS officer Srilakshmi in Obulapuram mining case

Hyderabad: In a sigh of relief to IAS officer Y. Srilakshmi in the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) illegal mining case, the Supreme Court stayed the Telangana High Court order that revived criminal proceedings against the IAS officer on Friday.

The Supreme Court's intervention provides temporary relief to the 1988-batch Andhra Pradesh cadre officer who faces allegations of irregularities in granting mining leases to OMC, formerly promoted by ex-Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy.

A bench comprising Justice MM Sundaresh and Justice NK Singh issued notices to respondents while agreeing to examine Srilakshmi's challenge against the High Court verdict. The stay comes after the Telangana High Court last week dismissed her criminal revision petition.

The legal battle started when a special CBI court turned down Srilakshmi's discharge petition. So, she went to the High Court. The High Court first ruled in her favour. However, the CBI challenged this in the Supreme Court. Then, the Supreme Court ordered a new examination of the case.

The OMC scam, which surfaced over a decade ago, involves allegations of massive illegal mining and irregularities in the allocation of mining leases in the border areas of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The CBI has alleged that Srilakshmi, during her tenure as Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Mines and Geology Department, abused her official position to extend undue favours to OMC.