Andhra Pradesh HC Grants Bail to TDP Chief Naidu in 3 Cases

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has granted bail to TDP Chief N. Chandrababu Naidu in three cases, namely, the Inner Ring Road case, Liquor case and Sand Policy case.

The court has directed Naidu to actively cooperate with the ongoing investigation in the case. Additionally, it has issued an order prohibiting the mention of matters pertaining to the case in public meetings and media platforms.

In May 2022, the CID filed an FIR against Chandrababu Naidu, former municipal administration minister Dr P Narayana, Heritage Foods Ltd, and others, alleging irregularities in the construction of an Inner Ring Road in Amaravati. In a previous development in November, the Andhra Pradesh High Court had granted bail to Chandrababu Naidu in the skill development case, where he had spent 53 days in judicial custody, and interim bail was provided for four weeks.

The arrest of the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister on September 9 by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in connection with the multi-crore skill development scam case led to political turmoil. Several TDP leaders claimed that Naidu’s arrest was a political “witch-hunt” based on false allegations.

Apart from the skill development case, Naidu is implicated in the Fibernet scam case, which involves alleged tender manipulation in allotting a work order under Phase-1 of the Andhra Pradesh FiberNet Project, amounting to Rs 330 crore. The CID of Andhra Pradesh police has accused irregularities in the entire project, from tender awarding to the completion of work, causing substantial financial loss to the state exchequer.