FibreNet Case: SC Adjourns Hearing on Naidu’s Anticipatory Bail Plea till Dec 12

The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s plea seeking anticipatory bail in the FibreNet case until December 12.

A bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi deferred the matter, stating that the judgment in another petition filed by Naidu seeking the quashing of the FIR in the Rs 371 crore skill development scam case is likely to be delivered soon.

During the brief hearing, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing Naidu, a former Andhra Pradesh chief minister, requested that the initial arrangement against his arrest by the state police should continue.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the Andhra Pradesh government, assured the court that the arrangement will continue.

The top court had previously asked the Andhra Pradesh Police not to arrest Naidu in the FibreNet case until delivering its verdict on the TDP supremo’s plea in the skill development scam case. The state police affirmed on October 13 that they would not take Naidu into custody.

The FiberNet case revolves around alleged tender manipulation for allotting a work order under Phase-1 of the AP FiberNet Project, involving Rs 330 crore to a favored company.

The Andhra Pradesh Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has alleged irregularities in the project from awarding the tender to completing the work, causing a substantial loss to the state exchequer.

Naidu, 73, was arrested on September 9 for purportedly misappropriating funds from the skill development corporation when he was the chief minister in 2015, causing an alleged loss of Rs 371 crore to the state exchequer.