9 Nov 2023 6:47 AM GMT
The Supreme Court on Thursday (09.11.2023) adjourned the plea by former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu for anticipatory bail in the FiberNet scam in the state stating the Court is likely to deliver the judgment in Naidu's quash petition in the skill development case after Diwali vacations. The Supreme Court is having Diwali holidays from November 13 to 18.
A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi was hearing Naidu's special leave petition against an order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court refusing to grant him anticipatory bail in the FiberNet scam case last month month.
As the matter was taken, Justice Bose told Naidu's lawyer Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra that the judgment in Naidu's plea to quash the FIR in the skill development scam case is likely to be delivered in the week after Diwali vacations (the week commencing from November 20). Justice Bose suggested that the present petition be heard after the judgment is pronounced in the other case. The bench had reserved judgment in the skill development case on October 17.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the State, informed the bench that Naidu has got interim bail from the High Court for four weeks in the skill development case on October 30.
The bench initially proposed to post the matter on November 23, however, after Luthra expressed inconvenience for that date, the matter was posted to November 30.
"There is another petition by the same petitioner, which has certain overlapping issues in which judgment has been reserved by this bench. We direct this matter to be listed on 30th November. This matter shall remain heard in part" the bench dictated in its order.
In the FiberNet case, the State had earlier undertaken before the Court that it will not arrest Naidu during the hearing.
Background
Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the Telugu Desam Party president and former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, has been accused of playing a 'key role' in the AP FiberNet scam that happened during the TDP term in the state. The AP crime investigation department (CID) has accused him of exerting pressure on officials to favour a certain company that was awarded the FiberNet contract, despite its alleged lack of necessary qualifications. Naidu was recently implicated in this case that was registered back in 2021. After his arrest in the skill development scam case, the prosecution moved a petition under Section 263 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for the issuance of a transit warrant. Although the State has sought to explain the delay in Naidu's inclusion as an accused on grounds of the challenges faced in examining crucial witnesses and suspected conspirators thrcough digital means, the former chief minister has cried foul, calling this a politically motivated decision.
Last month, Naidu's plea for anticipatory bail in this case was dismissed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The court, while addressing Naidu's concerns about the timing of his inclusion as an accused in the case, emphasised that the investigative process in such complex offenses naturally takes time. Justice K. Suresh Reddy maintained that the evidence presented by the prosecution, particularly the testimony of a key witness, did not support the claim of motivated timing and underscored the necessity of considering larger public interest when deciding matters of bail, rather than merely focusing on the prescribed penalties for the offence. Justice Reddy while dismissing the anticipatory bail application held -
"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."
On September 9, Naidu was also arrested in connection with a skill development scam in the state, with the state crime investigation department claiming to have prima 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. He has been custody since.
In September, the Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed Naidu’s plea for quashing of the first information report (FIR) in which 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.
Case Details:
Nara Chandrababu Naidu v. State of Andhra Pradesh & Anr. | Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 13356 of 2023