The ACB Court in Vijayawada on Tuesday dismissed former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s plea for house arrest. It was convinced that the central jail at Rajamahendravaram is safe for him in view of tight security provided by the State government. This has set the stage for the CID to press for his custody on Wednesday.
Mr. Naidu’s advocates filed a lunch motion petition in the High Court earlier in the day, challenging the legality of the arrest. It is likely to be heard on Wednesday.
Speaking to mediapersons, Additional Advocate General (AAG) P. Sudhakar Reddy said the court rejected Mr. Naidu’s house arrest petition on the basis of a submission by the State that there was no threat to his safety as the central jail had been converted into a fortress that was impregnable.
The block/room allotted to Mr. Naidu had been converted into a barrack and it would be watched by armed guards round-the-clock.
Medical facilities and medicines were kept on standby and even home-made food was allowed. The government had thus made clear that it owned responsibility for Mr. Naidu’s safety, the AAG said.
Asked why Mr. Naidu’s name did not figure in the FIR, Mr. Sudhakar Reddy said the name of those who abet a crime would come out during the process of investigation, not essentially at the time of registering the FIR.
He maintained that the presence of policemen at Mr. Naidu’s camp site in Nandyal at midnight was a surveillance measure, which was not in violation of the procedure of arrest prescribed in Section 46 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra’s arguments that centred on possible security lapses cut no ice as the judge was satisfied with the claims made by the prosecution related to Mr. Naidu’s safety.
Mr. Naidu is accused of masterminding a multi-crore scandal that purportedly took place in the A.P. State Skill Development Corporation between 2014 and 2019 when his party TDP was in power.
