Bail for Janardhan Reddy costs Rs 5 cr; Judge suspended

Hyderabad, Jun 1: In what can be called nothing but shocking the Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court Madan Lokur suspended Judge T Pattabhi Ramarao. The matter that led to stern reaction was that Ramarao granted bail to mining baron Galli

after allegedly pocketing a

of Rs 5 crore.

Reddy was jailed following his involvement in the Obulapuram illegal mining case. He was granted bail on May 12 by Judge Ramarao. He is yet to be released from jail, since he has not yet secured bail in another mining case involving Associated Mining Co.

The granting of bail to Reddy on the Obalapuram case had raised many eyebrows in spite of the strong stand taken by courts in corruption cases. The CBI had launched an investigation after rumours on an underhand deal spread that led to the fact that Reddy had paid the judge a bribe to secure bail.

In a report that appeared in Andhra Jyoti newspaper, Rs 2 crore of the bribe amount was reported to have kept in a locker belonging to Ramarao’s son, while the rest of the cash was kept in another location. This proof by the CBI was taken to the Chief Justice, who gave the investigating agency a go ahead to continue with the probe.

The CBI is understood to have found the said locker and also the bribe amount.

Following adequate verification, the Chief Justice discussed the matter with High Court Collegium and went ahead and suspended Pattabhi Ramarao. The tainted judge has been asked not to leave Hyderabad without the High Court’s permission. The CBI is, meanwhile, all geared up to register a case against him under the Prevention of Corruption act.

OneIndia News