The ACB Court here reserved its judgment on former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s bail plea in the skill development scam case and also the petition filed by the CID for taking him into custody for another three days.
Judge B.S.V. Himabindu posted the matter to October 9 (Monday) upon conclusion of arguments by Additional Advocate General (AAG) P. Sudhakar Reddy for the CID and senior advocate Pramod Dubey for Mr. Naidu.
She is likely to pronounce the judgment on Monday, when the Supreme Court is scheduled to resume the hearing of the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Mr. Naidu against the legality of the High Court (HC) verdict.
Speaking to media persons, Mr. Dubey said Mr. Naidu was neither a signatory to the project agreement nor did he issue an order to transfer ₹270 crore to the AP State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC). His role was obviously limited to policy-making.
He maintained that police custody could not be granted for an additional period after the expiry of the first 15 days and said 13 accused persons in the same case were let out on regular or anticipatory bail by the High Court.
Further, Mr. Dubey told the court that the CID told the High Court in January 2022 that the investigation was on the verge of completion but then it did nothing. The CID woke up suddenly last month and ‘added’ Mr. Naidu as an accused.
There were also violations in the process of arrest that took place at Nandyal, like not producing Mr. Naidu before the nearest magistrate court.
On his part, Mr. Sudhakar Reddy informed the court that a Chartered Accountant who was auditing the accounts of the APSSDC and also engaged by the TDP has been summoned for questioning on October 10 duly issuing him a notice under Section 41-A of the Criminal Procedure Code.
He insisted that Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code (criminal breach of trust by a public servant) was very much applicable to Mr. Naidu.
Mr. Naidu did not cooperate with the CID during his initial period of custody for two days, therefore, the investigating agency needed to examine him for another three days, the AAG pleaded.
