Cash-for-bail: Judge Pattabhi, 7 Others Booked by ACB
posted on Jun 9, 2012 @ 6:03PM
Suspended CBI Judge Pattabhirama Rao and 7 others have been booked on Saturday by the Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) in the mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy cash-for-bail case. Two Karnataka legislators are also among the persons booked. The Andhra Pradesh High Court had yesterday transferred the case from CBI to ACB.
Those who have been booked are First Additional CBI Judge Pattabhirama Rao, his son Ravi Chandra, retired judge Chalapathi Rao, jailed former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhana Reddy's brother Somasekhara Reddy and Suresh Babu (both legislators from Karnataka), rowdy sheeter Yadgiri of Hyderabad, Dasarathrami Reddy and a junior advocate. The accused have been booked for corruption, cheating and criminal conspiracy under various sections of Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act.
The judge, Pattabhirama Rao, on May 11 had granted bail to Janardhana Reddy in the Obulapuram Mining Company case. Janardhan Reddy, however, remained in Bangalore jail as he is standing trial for another mining case in Karnataka. The bail order was subsequently set aside by the high court. The CBI has been investigating the scam ever since it found that Pattabhirama Rao received a bribe of Rs.5 crore to grant bail to Janardhana Reddy. However, no arrest has been made in the case so far. High Court Chief Justice Madan B. Lokur on May 31 had suspended Pattabhirama Rao. The CBI reportedly seized a part of the bribe money from bank lockers belonging to the suspended judge's son.