Karnataka Congress MLA Satish Sail convicted by special court in illegal mining case
The CBI prosecuted the case against MLA Satish Sail and others after an initial Lokayukta probe found that nearly eight lakh tons of iron ore were transported from Bellary to the Belekeri port without mining, forest or transport permits.
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After the pronouncement of the conviction the special court ordered for the MLA and others to be taken into custody and posted the matter for sentencing Friday. (X/@Satish_Sail)A special court for hearing cases against elected representatives in Karnataka on Thursday convicted Congress MLA Satish Sail and others in connection with the illegal sale of iron ore from the Belekeri port which occurred at the height of the illegal mining scam during the BJP’s tenure in the state from 2008-2013.
The case was prosecuted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after an initial probe by the Karnataka Lokayukta in March 2010 found that nearly eight lakh tons of iron ore were transported from Bellary to the Belekeri port near Karwar without mining, forest or transport permits.
The stolen iron ore is alleged to have been exported illegally through a conspiracy involving the then deputy conservator of the port, Mahesh Biliye, and stevedore agencies at the port like Mallikarjun Shipping Company owned by Sail, the current Congress MLA from Karwar in coastal Karnataka.
The special court on Thursday convicted Sail, Biliye, and Mallikarjun Shipping Company in three cases of illegal exports from the Belekeri port. Sail was a businessman when the mining scam occurred and was later elected as an Independent MLA from Karwar in the 2013 Assembly polls.
Sail, Biliye, and Mallikarjun Shipping Pvt Ltd have been held guilty in two cases of criminal conspiracy, theft and cheating, while Biliye, who is now retired, is also accused under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. In a third case, K Mahesh Kumar, a businessman involved in iron ore exports, has also been held guilty.
The CBI has officially stated that the case involves the alleged “illegal excavation of iron ore to the tune of 50 lakhs metric tonnes worth Rupees 2500 crores (approx) and its subsequent export from the Belekeri Port in Karnataka”.
The Supreme Court had on September 7, 2012, directed the CBI to “investigate the case(s) relating to the illegal extraction of about 50.79 lakh MT of iron ore from the forest areas of Karnataka during the period January 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010, the illegal transport of the aforesaid quantity of iron ore from the area(s) of extraction to Belekeri Port and from there its illegal export to other countries”.
The CBI has filed multiple chargesheets with regard to illegal exports of iron ore from the Belekeri port naming several politicians like former BJP ministers G Janardhan Reddy and Anand Singh, Congress MLA B Nagendra (who was with the BJP in 2010) and the export firms they operated. Several government officials have also been accused in the cases.
After the pronouncement of the conviction, the special court ordered for Sail and others to be taken into custody and posted the matter for sentencing on Friday.
“Though the offence was not committed by him as an MLA, it is required to be remanded that the people in high office should always behave in a manner which will be exemplary to the society and certainly not of committing fraud on the public at large,” the court observed.
Though advocates for the accused sought relief from imprisonment under the Probation of Offenders Act, the court observed that “time and again it has been held by the Hon’ble Apex Court that economic offences are to be considered a class apart and the court shall not show leniency by looking into the punishment imposed”.
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