The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, reserved its judgment in the case of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP leader N. Chandrababu Naidu. He had petitioned the court to challenge a high court ruling that denied the quashing of the FIR filed against him in the Skill Development Corporation scam case.
After hearing the arguments presented by senior advocate Harish Salve, who represented Naidu, and Mukul Rohatgi, representing the state government, a bench composed of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi decided to reserve its judgment.
Naidu, aged 73, was taken into custody on September 9 on charges of misappropriating funds from the Skill Development Corporation during his tenure as Chief Minister in 2015, allegedly leading to a loss of approximately Rs 371 crore to the state treasury. Currently, he is in judicial remand and confined in the Rajamahendravaram Central Prison.
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According to the CID's remand report, Naidu is accused of engaging in a criminal conspiracy with the aim of fraudulently misappropriating government funds for personal use, disposing of property under the jurisdiction of a public servant, as well as involvement in acts of cheating, document forgery, and destruction of evidence.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court, in its ruling on September 22, declined Naidu's plea, asserting that criminal proceedings should not be halted at the initial stage, and quashing an FIR should be considered an exception rather than the rule.
