Andhra Pradesh High Court Stays investigation Against TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu In Amaravati Land Scam

Andhra Pradesh High Court has stayed the CID investigation against Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu and former minister P Narayana in the 'Amaravati Land Scam'.

High Court has stayed the investigation for four weeks.

Senior Supreme Court advocate Sidharth Luthra, who argued in favour of Naidu and former advocate general Dammalapati Srinivas who argued for Narayana, told the court that the CID cases were politically motivated.

Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu and former minister P Narayana on Thursday filed petitions in the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking quashing of the First Information Report filed by the Crime Investigation Department against them in the 'Amaravati Land Scam'.

The High Court is expected to list the petition for hearing on Friday, legal sources said.

The FIR was filed on March 12 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including criminal conspiracy, and also the SCs and STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Section 7 of AP Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfer) Act, 1977 was also invoked in the case.

The CID's FIR was based on a complaint filed by YSRC MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy on February 24, more than a month after the High Court struck down a case pertaining to "insider trading" in the Amaravati land scam.

Chandrababu Naidu and former minister P Narayana have been listed as Accused No.1 and 2.

"Other officials" have also been included in the FIR as accused but were not named yet.

The issue pertains to pooling of land for the development of the state's new capital city Amaravati back in the year 2015.

The CID served notices to both Chandrababu Naidu and Narayana asking them to appear before the investigating officer at its regional office in Vijayawada on March 23 and 22 respectively for examination "to ascertain facts which are within your exclusive knowledge".

The complainant Alla appeared before the investigating officer in Vijayawada on Thursday and presented his case.

The ruling party legislator from Mangalagiri in the capital region Amaravati alleged that 500 acres of land belonging to the Dalits in his constituency alone was taken away by dubious means.

He told reporters after deposing that he presented relevant evidence to the CID for the investigation.