Chandrababu Naidu Won't Be Arrested in FiberNet Scam Case Till Wednesday: State of Andhra Pradesh Tells Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice on a plea by former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu for anticipatory bail in the FiberNet scam in the case and directed the matter to be heard on Tuesday, October 17. After an apprehension was raised that the embattled legislator would be arrested in the meantime, the court also asked the State of Andhra Pradesh police to "stay its hand" till then.A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi was hearing Naidu's special leave petition against an order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court refusing to grant him anticipatory bail earlier this week.During today's hearing, Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for the former chief minister, told the bench, "He is on a merry-go-round. After his initial arrest [in the skill development scam case], they are going after him in one case after the other." Pointing out that a warrant had been issued to produce Naidu for Monday, October 16 in connection with the FiberNet scam case, Luthra voiced his concern regarding an imminent arrest and asked for a stay on the production warrants. He argued -"Once they arrested him in one case, they started roping him in other cases. This first information report was registered in 2021, no action has been taken whatsoever. On September 19, they added him as an accused, after he was arrested in the skill development case. A production warrant has been issued for October 16. Our concern is that they will arrest him. They claim they have done an inquiry. Again there's a Section 17A bar here. But the high court does not even consider it, completely bypassing the arguments made by both sides. In this case, there are three people on anticipatory bail, and three on regular bail. Others have not been arrested. The orders say that all the material is with them so there's no question of arrest now. Where is the question of taking Naidu into custody in this matter, if there are all these people are out on bail? These transactions relate to 2017. Elections are around the corner..."After discussing with his colleague, Justice Bose said, "The Section 17A point is overlapping. We'll do something: We'll issue a very short notice and take this up on Tuesday."At this juncture, Luthra strongly urged the court to keep the production warrants in abeyance - a request to which Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi(appearing for the State) heavily objected. Undeterred, Luthra told the bench, "Monday, they will arrest me. Tuesday, this petition will become infructuous. Please consider this."Acceding to the request, Justice Bose asked Rohatgi, "We are not passing any order. Till Monday can you hold the arrest?""Matter is before the court. It's not in my hands," Rohatgi replied, "In any case, if any order is passed, this court can reverse it.""Stay your hand," Justice Trivedi said firmly. Justice Bose added, "Tell the court that you're not arresting him till then."At the court's insistence, Rohatgi finally agreed. He also pledged to tell the local court to adjourn its proceeding till Wednesday. "That's fair," Luthra said.The statement made at the Bar was however not recorded by the bench, which pronounced the following order -"Issue notice. The standing counsel for the State of Andhra Pradesh accepts service on behalf of the respondent state. List this matter on Tuesday. If the State wants to file a counter-affidavit, they may do so by Monday with copy to petitioners."Luthra sought a clarification at the end of the hearing, "Mr Rohatgi's statement is good as gold. So no arrest till Wednesday and they will ask the court to defer it on Monday?""Yes," Rohatgi confirmed.BackgroundNara Chandrababu Naidu, the Telugu Desam Party president and former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, has been accused of playing a 'key role' in the AP FiberNet scam that happened during the TDP term in the state. The AP crime investigation department (CID) has accused him of exerting pressure on officials to favour a certain company that was awarded the FiberNet contract, despite its alleged lack of necessary qualifications. Naidu was recently implicated in this case that was registered back in 2021. After his arrest in the skill development scam case, the prosecution moved a petition under Section 263 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for the issuance of a transit warrant. Although the State has sought to explain the delay in Naidu's inclusion as an accused on grounds of the challenges faced in examining crucial witnesses and suspected conspirators thrcough digital means, the former chief minister has cried foul, calling this a politically motivated decision.This week, Naidu's plea for anticipatory bail in this case was dismissed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The court, while addressing Naidu's concerns about the timing of his inclusion as an accused in the case, emphasised that the investigative process in such complex offenses naturally takes time. Justice K. Suresh Reddy maintained that the evidence presented by the ...

Chandrababu Naidu Won't Be Arrested in FiberNet Scam Case Till Wednesday: State of Andhra Pradesh Tells Supreme Court

Awstika Das

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