13 Oct 2023 10:51 AM GMT
The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice on a plea by former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu for anticipatory bail in the FiberNet scam in the case and directed the matter to be heard on Tuesday, October 17. After an apprehension was raised that the embattled legislator would be arrested in the meantime, the court also asked the State of Andhra Pradesh police to "stay its hand" till then.
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 earlier this week.
During today's hearing, Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for the former chief minister, told the bench, "He is on a merry-go-round. After his initial arrest [in the skill development scam case], they are going after him in one case after the other."
Pointing out that a warrant had been issued to produce Naidu for Monday, October 16 in connection with the FiberNet scam case, Luthra voiced his concern regarding an imminent arrest and asked for a stay on the production warrants. He argued -
After discussing with his colleague, Justice Bose said, "The Section 17A point is overlapping. We'll do something: We'll issue a very short notice and take this up on Tuesday."
At this juncture, Luthra strongly urged the court to keep the production warrants in abeyance - a request to which Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi(appearing for the State) heavily objected. Undeterred, Luthra told the bench, "Monday, they will arrest me. Tuesday, this petition will become infructuous. Please consider this."
Acceding to the request, Justice Bose asked Rohatgi, "We are not passing any order. Till Monday can you hold the arrest?"
"Matter is before the court. It's not in my hands," Rohatgi replied, "In any case, if any order is passed, this court can reverse it."
"Stay your hand," Justice Trivedi said firmly. Justice Bose added, "Tell the court that you're not arresting him till then."
At the court's insistence, Rohatgi finally agreed. He also pledged to tell the local court to adjourn its proceeding till Wednesday. "That's fair," Luthra said.
The statement made at the Bar was however not recorded by the bench, which pronounced the following order -
Luthra sought a clarification at the end of the hearing, "Mr Rohatgi's statement is good as gold. So no arrest till Wednesday and they will ask the court to defer it on Monday?"
"Yes," Rohatgi confirmed.
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.
This week, 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.
Last month, 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.
The Supreme Court is also currently hearing a special leave petition against this order.
Case Details
Nara Chandrababu Naidu v. State of Andhra Pradesh & Anr. | Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 12289 of 2023