The Bench noted that an appeal in the case arising from the same FIR involving other accused was already dismissed by the court last year.
Published Jan 29, 2024 | 2:40 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 29, 2024 | 2:40 PM
Currently, Naidu faces six cases filed by the YSRCP. (Commons)
The Supreme Court, on Monday, 29 January, dismissed a plea of the Andhra Pradesh government challenging the anticipatory bail granted to TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu in the Amaravati Inner Ring Road (IRR) scam case.
A Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta dismissed the plea of the state government in which it challenged the high court order of 10 January giving relief to Naidu.
The Bench noted that an appeal in the case arising from the same FIR involving other accused was already dismissed by the court last year. Given the earlier order passed by the court, the Bench said that it was not inclined to entertain the appeal of the state government.
Noting that the earlier order would not affect the investigation, the apex court said, “Further, in the event respondent do not cooperate, petitioner would be at liberty to move for cancellation of bail in the courts below.”
On 10 January, the High Court of Andhra Pradesh granted bail to Naidu in the IRR, free sand, and liquor scam cases. In all three cases, the court observed that the AP Crime Investigation Department (CID) did not show any material as to how Naidu benefitted personally from the decisions taken as the chief minister at the time.
The CID, which is probing the irregularities committed to make changes to the alignment of Amaravati capital IRR, had declared Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh as Accused No 14 (A14) in the case.
It filed a memo to this effect in the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Court in Vijayawada on 26 September last year.
The CID alleged that Lokesh played a crucial role in trying to make changes to the alignment of the Inner Ring Road to benefit certain people. He is was also facing allegations of helping industrialist Lingamaneni Ramesh’s family in the capital region. Ramesh is A3 in this case.
The names of Chandrababu Naidu and former municipal administration minister P Narayana, along with other private individuals and companies, were also mentioned in the case.
Chandrababu Naidu and Narayana’s names were included in the case as they played a key role in designing the master plan and accordingly trying to make changes to the alignment of the Amaravati IRR.
Based on a complaint lodged by YSRCP MLA A Ramakrishna Reddy, the CID registered the case against them in 2022 for allegedly committing illegal activities pertaining to the capital city – Amaravati — within a few months of coming to power in 2014, which continued till 2019.
Reddy alleged that the then-ruling party leaders, including Chandrababu Naidu, Narayana, and others designed the master plan for the Andhra Pradesh capital and alignment of the IRR.
He also alleged that arterial roads were connected to the master plan to cause wrongful gain to some selected persons and companies associated with the decision-making authorities to get benefits, thereby causing loss to the public and the government exchequer.
The case was booked under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and also under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988.
It was alleged that Chandrababu Naidu, who was also an ex-officio chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA), and others alienated assigned lands in the capital region.
The Inner Ring Road scam case pertains to manipulating the master plan of Amaravati capital city, alignment of Inner Ring Road and the seed capital to allegedly offer undue enrichment to several companies during Naidu’s tenure as chief minister.
