Former Karnataka Minister Gali Janardhana Reddy, recently convicted in an illegal iron ore mining case, has approached the Telangana High Court seeking bail and a suspension of the lower court’s judgment.

On 6 May, the Special CBI Court in Hyderabad sentenced Reddy and others to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each. The court found them guilty of illegal mining between 2007 and 2009 in the Bellary Reserve Forest, on the Karnataka–Andhra Pradesh border, causing a loss of Rs 884 crore to the exchequer.

Reddy, named Accused No. 2, filed his petition in the High Court on Monday. Others convicted include his brother-in-law Srinivasa Reddy, Managing Director of Obulapuram Mining Company, VD Rajagopal, then Director of Mines and Geology, and Mehafuz Ali Khan, Reddy’s personal assistant.

The CBI accused them of tampering with mining lease boundaries and conducting illegal mining operations. The conviction comes 14 years after the CBI filed its chargesheet. Reddy now seeks relief while appealing against the conviction in what was one of India’s most significant mining scams.