Supreme Court To Hear On February 26 Andhra Pradesh Govt's Plea Opposing Regular Bail Granted To Chandrababu Naidu In Skill Development Scam Case
The Supreme Court on Monday (February 12) adjourned until February 26 the hearing of a plea by the State of Andhra Pradesh challenging the regular bail granted to N Chandrababu Naidu, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo and former chief minister of the state, in the skill development scam case.A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal was hearing the State of Andhra Pradesh's...
The Supreme Court on Monday (February 12) adjourned until February 26 the hearing of a plea by the State of Andhra Pradesh challenging the regular bail granted to N Chandrababu Naidu, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo and former chief minister of the state, in the skill development scam case.
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal was hearing the State of Andhra Pradesh's special leave petition challenging an order passed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court granting regular bail to the Telugu Desam Party president. Naidu was arrested in connection with this case on September 9 by the state crime investigation department and was in custody till he was directed to be released on bail in October.
In November, the bench while adjourning the proceedings until after the delivery of the judgment in Naidu's plea seeking the quashing of the first information report (FIR) in this case, agreed to issue notice and seek the TDP leader's response to the Andhra Pradesh government's plea. Not only this, but the bench also directed the continuation of a bail condition enjoining Naidu from speaking about sub judice matters arising out of this case in the public domain. However, the court refused to impose the other bail condition prohibiting him from organising or participating in political rallies or meetings. These conditions were imposed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court in an interim order, but later not extended when Naidu was granted regular bail.
Last month, Naidu's plea in the skill development case was referred to a larger bench in view of a disagreement between Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi on the interpretation of Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, a prior sanction requirement introduced by an amendment in 2018, and its applicability to Naidu.
Today, Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing on behalf of the former chief minister, sought time on behalf of Senior Advocate Harish Salve, Naidu's lead counsel. On behalf of the State of Andhra Pradesh, Senior Advocate Ranjit Kumar urged the court to list the matter soon. He complained, "Twice, they have taken time. Again they are seeking an adjournment..."
Acceding to Luthra's request, the bench directed the matter to be listed after two weeks. On Kumar's insistence, it also specified the next date of hearing, i.e., February 26.
Background
Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Telugu Desam Party president and erstwhile Andhra Pradesh chief minister, has been arrested in connection with a skill development scam in the state, with the state crime investigation department claiming to have prime facie evidence of the former chief minister's key role in the alleged embezzlement of around Rs 371 crore from the Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Corporation through fictitious companies during the TDP's rule between 2014 and 2019. He is the 37th accused in a 2021 FIR related to the multi-crore scam involving the state skill development corporation.
The opposition Telugu Desam Party leader was arrested by the Andhra Pradesh CID on September 9. In the same month, the Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed Naidu's plea for quashing of the FIR. In his petition, he argued that the trial court's order remanding him to custody did not consider that the CID had failed to obtain prior approval from the governor, as required by Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. However, a bench of Justice K Sreenivas Reddy ruled that prior sanction from the competent authority was unnecessary for the investigation since the use of public funds, allegedly for personal gain, did not constitute an act in the discharge of official duties. The court also agreed that given the seriousness of economic offences, the investigation should not be hindered, especially at this early stage. Challenging this ruling, the TDP leader approached the Supreme Court in a special leave petition. The hearing has been concluded and the matter has been reserved for judgment.
Naidu was in custody till he was granted interim medical bail by the Andhra Pradesh High Court in October last year. Later, he was granted regular bail by the single-judge bench in November. Justice T Mallikarjun Rao stated that, based on the available material, it could not be definitively concluded that the misappropriated amounts were diverted to TDP's bank accounts. The court also noted that Naidu couldn't be held responsible for the discrepancies highlighted in the Forensic Audit report, which indicated that out of the Rs 371 crores, at least Rs 241 crores were misappropriated by SISW and Design Tech, diverted to various shell companies. In an interim order, the high court had imposed restrictions on Naidu from giving press interviews or making public comments related to the case. However, while granting bail, the court refused to continue these restrictions, stating that imposing such conditions could impact the electoral prospects of his political party.
Naidu faces charges in three other alleged scams—the FiberNet scam, the IRR alignment scam, and the liquor scam. The top court is also hearing Naidu's plea against the high court declining his request for anticipatory bail in the FiberNet scam case. The hearing in this case was adjourned to await the decision in the TDP supremo's quash petition in the skill development case.
Case Details
State of Andhra Pradesh v. Nara Chandrababu Naidu | Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 15099 of 2023