The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition challenging the Andhra Pradesh High Court judgment which quashed the 2021 criminal case against Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and former minister Ponguru Narayana in connection with alleged irregularities in the land pooling scheme for Amaravati.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana refused to entertain the challenge made by Alla Rama Krishna Reddy, former YSRCP MLA, against the July 15 judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court which quashed the proceedings against Naidu and Narayana.

The bench, while refusing to interfere with the quashing of the case against them, clarified that the High Court's judgment will have no bearing on other cases, which should be determined on their own independent merits.

Senior Advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for Alla Rama Krishna Reddy, submitted that there were large-scale irregularities, and involved land of about 30,000 acres of over 25,000 farmers.

"On the larger issue of farmers, we are with you. Whatever they are entitled to it, we will protect," CJI Surya Kant said. The CJI however pointed out that the present criminal proceedings were at the instance of a political rival and no farmer had come forward. The CJI also observed that political battles should not be fought in court.

The FIR, registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act on March 12, 2021, followed a complaint by then Mangalagiri MLA Alla Rama Krishna Reddy over the land pooling scheme announced as per a 2016 Government order. Under the land pooling scheme, the Andhra Pradesh government acquired agricultural land from farmers for the development of Amaravati, the proposed capital city, in return for developed residential and commercial plots. Under the scheme, farmers were to receive 1,000 square yards of residential land and 250 square yards of commercial land for every acre of agricultural land surrendered for the capital project. As per records, 28,181 landowners across 25 villages had contributed 35,215 acres of private agricultural land for the development of Amaravati.

The scheme was presented as an alternative to conventional compulsory land acquisition, with landowners receiving developed plots in the proposed capital in return for pooling their agricultural holdings.

The complaint alleged that the government had illegally amended the land pooling framework to extend its benefits to certain categories of assigned land, thereby enabling private individuals and alleged encroachers to obtain developed plots. It alleged that the move caused losses to poor and marginalised landholders and conferred unlawful benefits on influential individuals. It was alleged that farmers, particularly from SC, ST and other weaker sections, were misled or pressured into parting with their assigned lands and that middlemen obtained agreements or sale deeds by exploiting fears over the future of their land.

The High Court's order noted that the APCRDA Act, 2014, introduced land pooling as an alternative to compulsory acquisition.

The High Court found that the prosecution was founded substantially on official policy-making and executive decisions. Justice Y Lakshmana Rao of the High Court held that the theory of treating legitimate governmental policy decisions and issuance of government orders as a criminal conspiracy was constitutionally untenable. The Court noted that the decisions concerning Amaravati had been taken through governmental processes and had received legislative endorsement. The Court ultimately held that the FIR did not stand on firm legal ground and was vitiated by mala fides and political vendetta and quashed the proceedings (Crime No. 5 of 2021 registered the CID at Amaravathi, Mangalagiri.) against Naidu and Narayana in their entirety.

Case : ALLA RAMA KRISHNA REDDY Vs THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH | SLP(Crl) No. 14193/2026