Hyderabad, Sep 19 (IANS) A special court here Monday extended the judicial custody of former Karnataka minister G. Janardhana Reddy and his brother-in-law Srinivasa Reddy till Oct 3 in an illegal mining case.


The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which interrogated the duo for six days, presented them before the special court at the Nampally Criminal Court Complex amid tight security.

Judge Naga Murthy Sharma extended the judicial custody of the accused as the petitions of the CBI for extending the CBI custody and also those of the accused for bail could not be taken up for hearing due to an ongoing strike by pro-Telangana lawyers.

CBI officials brought the accused to the court hall an hour before the court opened at 10.30 a.m. A battery of lawyers, including Udai Lalit, were present in court to argue on the bail petition and also to oppose the CBI plea for extending custody.

However, lawyers supporting the demand for Telangana entered the court hall and asked all the lawyers not to participate in the court proceedings in view of the strike.

The protesting lawyers also requested the judge not to hear the cases in view of the 48-hour long strike. The court was adjourned after the judge extended the judicial custody of the accused for two weeks.

The petitions of the CBI and the accused are now likely to come up for hearing Wednesday.

CBI shifted the accused to Chanchalguda Central Jail.

They were arrested by the CBI from Bellary in Karnataka Sep 5 in connection with the illegal mining case registered in 2009 against Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), owned by Janardhana Reddy. They were brought to Hyderabad the same day and the court sent them to judicial custody till Sep 19.

The court Sep 13 had remanded the accused in CBI custody for six days.