Andhra Pradesh High Court Awaits Verdict on Naidu’s Plea in Skill Development Scam: A Deep Dive into the Legal Battle.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court, under the purview of Justice K. Sreenivas Reddy, has reserved its judgment concerning the plea of former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. Naidu is seeking to quash the case against him related to the alleged multi-crore corruption in the Andhra Pradesh skill development program scam. Additionally, he has requested the cancellation of his judicial remand.
Representing Naidu, Senior Supreme Court advocates Harish Salve and Siddharth Luthra presented their arguments, emphasizing that Naidu was a victim of ‘regime revenge’. They contended that the FIR, which was registered in 2021, necessitated the Governor’s prior approval as per Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act before arresting the Telugu Desam Party leader. Salve stated,
“Our contention is that this FIR is completely illegal. The judgements relied on by the Advocate General is wrongly interpreted… They have filed the complaint fully knowing about the provisions of Section 17A of the Act. They haven’t taken the first step necessary to file the FIR.”
Elaborating on the case, Salve informed the court about a project aimed at establishing technical skill development centers. The funding model proposed that 90% of the costs would be covered by private industries, with the state shouldering the remaining 10%.
He pointed out that 40 Skill Development Institutes were set up, training over 213,000 students. Salve argued that the state’s resources were utilized effectively and that the proceedings against Naidu were merely a political agenda in light of the upcoming General elections. He described the allegations against Naidu as
“hopelessly drummed up”
and added, “They (State) are never saying that service was not rendered. They say sub-contractors did not deliver,
and hence State’s money is wasted. That’s not for us to go into, it starts on the wrong foot.”
On the other side, the state, represented by senior counsels Mukul Rohatgi, Ranjit Kumar, and additional Advocate General Ponnavolu Sudhakar Reddy, countered that prior sanction was not necessary for the investigation. They argued that Naidu’s actions, such as fabricating records and misappropriating funds, cannot be considered ‘official duty’. The state’s counsel informed the court that the exchequer suffered a loss of Rs 371 crore due to Naidu’s actions.
They further asserted that Naidu was arrested only after gathering sufficient evidence to substantiate the charges against him. They also mentioned that both the Income Tax department and the Enforcement Directorate have initiated investigations into the alleged scam.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court reserved its orders on the matter.