In a vital legal development, senior IAS officer Y. Srilakshmi has approached the Telangana High Court, requesting her take out from the long-standing Obulapuram illegal mining case. This story, which has attracted national attention over the years, involves claimed irregularities in the granting of mining leases to Gali Janardhan Reddy’s Obulapuram Mining Company.

Srilakshmi’s legal team argued that she did not act independently or unlawfully, but only followed the directions issued by the state government and the then Minister for Mines. According to her counsel, by the time she assumed office in May 2006, the proposal for granting mining leases was already under process. She mention her role was purely administrative and based on the existing legal definition of captive mining.

There have been many ups and downs in this case. Although in 2022, the High Court left her out of the case, but the Supreme Court later overturned the decision and directed the lower court to reconsider the case. As a result, the petition to remove them from the case has once again come up for hearing.

This week, the Telangana High Court took cognizance of her petition and gave her five days to respond to the counter-duty filed by the CBI. The next hearing of the case has been scheduled later this month.

IAS officer Y. Srilakshmi's removal petition from the illegal mining case to file in the Telangana High Court highlights how complicated the decision -making process and accountability can be. While the legal process still continues, their petition focuses on how many times the authorities face heavy burden and legal challenges even while following the orders of high officials. It raises serious questions about the limits of responsibility in public administration.