Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s family, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and his innumerable supporters are waiting with bated breath for the outcome of the hearing of his Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the skill development scam case by the Supreme Court on October 9.
They are hoping that the top court will concede his plea to quash the High Court order by duly taking into consideration his claim to have played no role at all in the scam, much less masterminding it.
The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) Court judgment on the TDP national president’s bail plea and CID custody petition is also due to be pronounced the same day, i.e. October 9.
The special court in Vijayawada dealing with ACB and SPE cases had sent Mr. Naidu to judicial remand for two weeks (up to September 22) and extended it by two days.
The CID questioned Mr. Naidu during those two days at the central jail in Rajamahendravaram with court permission.
ACB Court judge B.S.V. Himabindu extended the remand for the second time till October 5 and then again up to October 19.
Mr. Naidu’s hopes of a relief were dashed when Justice K. Sreenivas Reddy of the High Court dismissed his petition that sought the CID FIR and the consequential ACB Court remand order to be quashed.
This is what Mr. Naidu challenged in the Supreme Court, where the SLP was so far heard in detail only once by Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi and posted to October 9.
The crux of Mr. Naidu’s argument is that the CID detained him in violation of Section.17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PC Act) which mandates them to obtain the Governor’s clearance for arrest.
Also, he asserted that there are no specific allegations against him that constitute an offence under Section.409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code which prescribes a stringent punishment.
The arguments that took place in ACB Court, the High Court and the Supreme Court were largely focused on Section.17-A of the PC Act. Whether the Supreme Court will delve into the realm of Section 409 on October 9 is a matter of guesswork at the moment.
On the other hand, Justice K. Suresh Reddy of the High Court is scheduled to deliver his verdict on Mr. Naidu’s anticipatory bail petitions in the Amaravati Inner Ring Road alignment and FiberNet scam cases on October 9. Mr. Naidu has already completed 30 days in judicial remand.
