The Supreme Court, in a recent directive, has asked the Andhra Pradesh Police to refrain from arresting Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu in connection with the FibreNet case. This decision comes pending the court’s verdict on a plea related to the Skill Development scam case.
During the hearing, a bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi emphasized the previous understanding, stating,
“Let the earlier understanding continue.”
This was in reference to the Andhra Pradesh Police’s statement on October 13, where they assured that they would not take Naidu into custody.
Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing Naidu, highlighted the police’s intent to arrest him in the FibreNet case, even though he’s already in custody for the Skill Development scam. In response, Senior Advocate Ranjit Kumar, representing the Andhra Pradesh government, mentioned that for the custodial interrogation of Naidu in the FibreNet case, they would seek the court’s permission since he’s already in judicial custody for another case.
The FibreNet case revolves around alleged tender manipulations in awarding a work order under Phase-1 of the AP FiberNet Project, amounting to Rs 330 crore, to a preferred company. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Andhra Pradesh Police alleges irregularities in the project from its inception to completion, leading to significant losses to the state exchequer.
Naidu, 73, was arrested on September 9 for purportedly misappropriating funds from the Skill Development Corporation during his tenure as chief minister in 2015. This alleged misappropriation resulted in a reported loss of Rs 371 crore to the state exchequer. Naidu is currently under judicial remand in the Rajamahendravaram central prison.
The former chief minister has labeled the allegations against him as politically motivated. His plea for anticipatory bail in the FibreNet case was recently dismissed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Justice K. Suresh Reddy, while dismissing the anticipatory bail application, stated,
“In the circumstances and since the larger interest of the public or State also needs to be looked at in terms of the gravity, and not only in terms of the penalty prescribed for the offence, and having regard to the gravity of the offence which pertains to the allegation of causing of pecuniary advantage of about Rs.114.53 crores to A3 and consequential loss to the state exchequer, with the alleged connivance of the petitioner, this court is of the opinion that grant of anticipatory bail to the petitioner is not warranted at this stage, more so, when the trail of money is yet to be investigated, and to see that the investigation is not frustrated.”
The Supreme Court’s decision to defer Naidu’s arrest comes as a significant development in the ongoing legal battles surrounding the former chief minister.
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