Supreme Court To Pronounce Judgment Tomorrow On Chandrababu Naidu's Plea To Quash FIR In Skill Development Scam Case

The Supreme Court will pronounce judgment tomorrow on the petition filed by former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desom Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu seeking to quash the FIR registered against him by the AP Crime Investigation Department in connection with the skill development scam case.

A bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi, which reserved the judgment on October 17 last year, will deliver the verdict tomorrow at 1 PM.

A primary point argued by Naidu's lawyers, Senior Advocates Harish Salve and Siddharth Luthra, is that the police could not have made Naiduan accused in the case without obtaining the sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The State, represented by Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, countered this argument by contending that since the offence occurred before the insertion of Section 17A in the PC Act through the 2018 amendment, the mandate of prior sanction was not applicable in the case.

Naidu was arrested on September 9, 2023 and remained under custody till October 31 when the Andhra Pradesh High Court granted him interim bail on medical grounds.  Later, on November 20, the High Court granted him regular bail, observing that there was no prima facie case made out against him.

The case relates to 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.