The Supreme Court is set to deliver a judgment on the petition filed by former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desom Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, aiming to quash the FIR registered against him by the AP Crime Investigation Department in connection with the skill development scam case. A bench consisting of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi, which reserved the judgment on October 17 last year, will announce the verdict at 1 PM.
Naidu’s legal team, led by Senior Advocates Harish Salve and Siddharth Luthra, emphasized a crucial point during the arguments—that the police should not have accused Naidu without obtaining the sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The State, represented by Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, countered this argument, asserting that since the offence occurred before the insertion of Section 17A in the PC Act through the 2018 amendment, the mandate of prior sanction was not applicable in the case.
Naidu faced arrest on September 9, 2023, and remained in custody until October 31 when the Andhra Pradesh High Court granted him interim bail on medical grounds. Subsequently, on November 20, the High Court provided him regular bail, stating that there was no prima facie case against him. The case revolves around the alleged embezzlement of approximately Rs 371 crore from the Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Corporation through fictitious companies during the TDP’s rule between 2014 and 2019. Naidu is the 37th accused in a 2021 FIR related to the multi-crore scam involving the state skill development corporation.
