Published Sep 21, 2023 | 8:03 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 21, 2023 | 8:03 PM
Sand art pledging support to N Chandrababu Naidu on Bapatla beach. (X)
The suspense on the fate of the petition filed by the Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID) seeking the custody of former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu continued on Thursday, 21 September.
An Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Court in Vijayawada has adjourned its verdict to Friday, on the CID’s petition seeking five-day custody of Naidu for questioning him on his role in the skill development scam that took place when the TDP was in power in the state between 2014 and 2019.
The ACB Court, after hearing the arguments for and against granting custody of Naidu, said it was holding back its judgement as the verdict on the quash petition filed by Naidu was awaiting adjudication in the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
Supreme Court counsel Sidharth Luthra, appearing for Naidu, contended that the CID had not come up with any evidence to substantiate its charge that his client was involved in misappropriating funds in the skill development case.
He said the CID was seeking his custody on the pretext of investigation, and without basis. He maintained that Naidu’s arrest was part of a political conspiracy.
Luthra maintained that there was no need to allow the CID Naidu’s custody and requested the court to dismiss the plea. Naidu’s counsels argued that the CID was seeking his custody with the intention of questioning him for five days and leaking the information to the media to tarnish his image.
Additional Advocate General Ponnavolu Sudhakar Reddy said that the CID had arrested Naidu after gathering enough evidence to show his involvement in the scam. He said all those involved in the case needed to be interrogated.
The CID sought Naidu’s custody as it believed that his statements would be necessary to get to the bottom of the case.
Reddy reiterated that more than recovering funds suspected to have been embezzled, unraveling the conspiracy angle was more important. The CID already has information relating to the money trail, he claimed.
Reddy said that the CID had very little time to interrogate Naidu after arresting him on 9 September and wondered what harm would befall if interrogation was done in police custody. He recalled that two persons to whom CID had sent notices to appear before them, had fled India.
He said it was imperative that the CID know who had received the money transferred to shell companies. He recalled that the case relates to the misappropriation of ₹371 crore of public money.
The ACB Court said that it would also hear the arguments on CID’s plea for prisoner-transit (PT) warrants in the Amaravati Inner Ring Road and Fibernet cases on Friday.
