The Telangana High Court on Friday dismissed a criminal revision case filed by senior IAS officer Y Srilakshmi, who sought acquittal in the 2006 Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) illegal mining case. Dismissing the plea, Justice K Lakshman upheld her status as an accused, thereby mandating her to face trial in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court.
Srilakshmi, an Andhra Pradesh cadre officer who served as the secretary of the Industries Department in 2006, is the sixth accused in the OMC case.
Earlier, the CBI special court had convicted five people, including former Karnataka MLA Gali Janardhan Reddy, in the corruption case, while former Minister and now Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA Sabitha Indra Reddy and retired officer Krupanandam were acquitted of charges.
Srilakshmi had initially sought discharge from the case in a CBI special court in Hyderabad. Upon the CBI court’s rejection of her plea in October 2022, she approached the Telangana High Court, which, in November 2022, ruled in her favour and discharged her from the case.
However, the CBI challenged the High Court decision before the Supreme Court, arguing that their contentions were not adequately considered. The apex court found fault with the High Court’s initial ruling and remanded the matter back to the Telangana High Court in May 2025, directing a fresh hearing within three months with due consideration of arguments from both parties.
During the hearing, the CBI argued that Srilakshmi played a key role in granting licences during her tenure as the secretary of the Industries Department in 2006. While the petitioner’s counsel argued that provisional licences were issued to the company before Srilakshmi took charge on June 17, 2006, the CBI stated that the state government had not issued any proceedings or addressed any letter to the Central Government seeking approval for granting mining licences before she assumed office.
CBI Special Public Prosecutor Srinivas Kapatia told The Indian Express that Srilakshmi, on October 20, 2006, wrote to the Central Government seeking prior approval before taking permission from the minister concerned.
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“She wrote the letter before taking any permission from the minister. The note file was approved by her, correspondence was done by her to the central government, and after sending the letter and after a lapse of 2 months, she got approval from the minister,” Kapatia said.
He further stated that the initial notification was issued in respect of Obulapuram village. In 2006, Gali Janardhan Reddy had applied for mining licenses for Antharagangammakonda and Mallammakonda villages, which were not in the notification. “Subsequently, government officials inserted the names of these villages in the corresponding note files,” Kapatia said.
He also added that the Central Government had requested the state government to issue notices to all the applicants and also pass rejection orders. “She simply compared with other applicants, and without giving sufficient time, show cause notices were issued in 10 days. The Government Order and the rejection orders were issued on the very same day, 18.6.2008,” he stated.
After reviewing all arguments, Justice K Lakshman dismissed Srilakshmi’s revision petition, reinforcing her involvement in the case and clearing the path for the CBI to further investigate her role.
