The Supreme Court is set to announce its verdict on January 16 regarding the plea filed by former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu. The plea challenges the high court’s decision not to quash the FIR against him in the Skill Development Corporation scam case. Naidu was arrested on September 9 of the previous year on charges of misappropriating funds from the Skill Development Corporation during his tenure as chief minister in 2015, allegedly causing a loss of Rs 371 crore to the state exchequer. However, Naidu has consistently denied these allegations. The Andhra Pradesh High Court had granted him regular bail on November 20, 2023, in the same case.
The Supreme Court bench, consisting of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi, had reserved its verdict on Naidu’s plea challenging the high court order on October 17, 2023. The state’s counsel argued that Naidu’s petition should be rejected, as the amendment introducing section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act came into effect in July 2018, while the CBI initiated the probe in 2017. Section 17A mandates prior approval for any investigation into alleged offences by a public servant. Naidu’s legal team countered that section 17A applied to the case, as the inquiry began in December 2021, and all allegations in the FIR pertained to decisions made during Naidu’s tenure as chief minister. The TDP chief claimed his arrest was illegal, as the FIR was registered without obtaining prior approval from the competent authority. He moved the Supreme Court after the Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed his petition to quash the FIR, emphasizing that criminal proceedings should not be halted at the initial stage.
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