Skill scam: Hearing of Chandrababu Naidu’s custody, bail petitions posted for Thursday

VIJAYAWADA: The ACB Special Court in Vijayawada posted further hearing on the Custody petition of AP CID and bail petition of former Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu for hearing on Thursday. The decision came after hearing prolonged arguments from both sides on Wednesday.

Supreme Court advocate Pramod Kumar Dubey, representing Chandrababu Naidu, said that the former Chief Minister committed no offense in the skill development project. A similar project implemented in Gujarat was studied by Sunitha, a finance department official of the then Andhra Pradesh Government and she had no objection to implementing such a project in the State, he pointed out.

A cost evaluation committee ratified the equipment to be procured for the project and Chandrababu Naidu was not even a member of the cost evaluation committee, he noted. Bhaskar Rao who was in that committee availed interim bail which was extended by the Supreme Court till November 16, he said. “The fact is that Chandrababu Naidu was arrested without even serving a notice. After the arrest they only started investigating his role,” Dubey said.

Stressing that CID had questioned Naidu for three days, he said that he was interrogated immediately after arrest, then under two-day custody, was questioned in Rajamahendravaram jail. “Now they are asking for his custody, what is the necessity,” he questioned. Dubey argued that the decision to implement the skill development project was taken collectively by the cabinet.

“How can the Chief Minister be made responsible for a decision taken by the entire cabinet,” he asked seeking bail for Chandrababu Naidu. He added that Naidu, at the age of 73 years, would not be in a position to run away from the country.

Naidu influencing the skill case from Jail

Additional Advocate General Ponnavolu Sudhakar Reddy representing the CID said that the skill development project was conceived with a sole mala fide intention to benefit the then Chief Minster Chandrababu Naidu. “The first red flag came from Central institutions in 2018, by the then Government failed to investigate the rot, resulting in the loss of Rs 371 crore to the exchequer,” Ponnavulu pointed out.

“If at this juncture Naidu is given bail he would influence the witnesses and the case, he is doing that already from the Central Prison,” the AAG said requesting the court not to issue bail.

Judge recuses in IRR case

Meanwhile, Judge Srinivasa Reddy recused himself from hearing the bail petition of former minister Narayana in the IRR scam case at the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The hearing was then posted to another judge to be heard on Friday. Earlier, Narayana pleaded to the court that he was ailing and the CID could question him at his home, in the presence of a lawyer.

Anticipatory bail of Lokesh posted to Oct 12

In yet another hearing of anticipatory bail in the skill development scam case, a hearing on bail petition was posted to October 12 by the High Court. Advocate General S Subramanya Sriram sought the court to postpone the hearing to Wednesday as there was no order from the State Government on the issue even as Lokesh’s bail in the skill scam case ended on Wednesday.