ACB court to deliver verdict on Naidu’s custody petition on Thursday

AMARAVATI: The ACB Special Court in Vijayawada, hearing the custody petition filed by the Andhra Pradesh CID seeking custody of skill development scam accused Nara Chandrababu Naidu for five days, posted the judgment on Thursday.

The decision came after hearing arguments of both sides for more than four hours on Wednesday. While senior Supreme Court lawyers Sidharth Luthra and Sidharth Agarwal argued that there was no need to question the former Chief Minister anymore. The Additional Advocate General Ponnavolu Sudhakar Reddy, representing the CID, said that the intelligence agency would need more time to gather information from the accused in the Rs 371 crore skill development scam.

“More than the money involved in the case, the CID wants to know the modus operandi behind the scam,” Sudhakar Reddy said, urging custody of the accused. Countering the argument Sidharth Luthra said that Naidu was the victim of political vendetta and there was nothing substantial against the former CM in the FIR.

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh High Court posted the hearing on the anticipatory bail petition for Chandrababu Naidu in an attempt to murder case in Angallu, posted hearing to Thursday.

Hectic activity was expected starting from Thursday in both the ACB court and the High Court with the judicial custody of Chandrababu Naidu ending on September 22 and the verdict on the crucial quash petition scheduled for the same day by the High Court. Based on the judgment on the quash petition, the ACB could take up hearings of the interim and anticipatory bail petitions filed on behalf of the former CM.