The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant an out-of-turn mentioning to the petition filed by former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, challenging his arrest in the Skill Development Programme scam case.
Noting that the plea was not there in the mentioning list today, the Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud directed Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra to mention the same tomorrow.
Luthra argued that the opposition was being curbed in the State of Andhra Pradesh.
However, the Apex Court told him to come tomorrow in the mentioning list.
Naidu had moved the Apex Court on Saturday against the Andhra Pradesh High Court order, which refused to quash the first information report (FIR) filed against him in the skill development program scam case.
Filed through Advocate Guntur Pramod Kumar, the petition contended that the FIR was registered on December 19, 2021, whereas Naidu was arrayed as an accused on September 7, 2023.
The High Court held that there was no need for prior approval from the competent authority was necessary for investigation into the alleged offences.
Justice K Sreenivasa Reddy had observed that the acts alleged against Naidu could not be said to be in good faith and in discharge of his official duties as Chief Minister.
Advocate Harish Salve who represented Naidu, contended that Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act was not complied with, as no permission was obtained from the competent authority.
Advocate Salve also argued that Naidu’s implication was nothing, but a ‘regime revenge investigation’ and that the instrumentalities of the State were being weaponised for using the force of criminal law.
The lawyer added that even if all the accusations were to be believed, there was no prima facie case against Naidu.
Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), said that quashing the application was wrong.
Rohatgi argued that Section 17A was not a bar as Naidu, being the head of the executive government, was involved in a calculated and deliberate scam which misappropriated ₹370 crore of public money.
Further, he asserted that there was no need for prior sanction under Section 17A for investigation of offences prior to July 26, 2018, the date on which the the provision was inserted into PC Act.
The investigation against Naidu centres around a scheme that allegedly diverted government funds intended for a skill development project into various shell companies through fraudulent invoices, which did not correspond with the delivery of services.
He was arrested and later remanded to judicial custody in the matter on September 10.