Skill Development Scam: SC to Deliver Verdict on Naidu’s Plea on Jan 16

The Supreme Court is scheduled to its verdict on January 16 concerning the plea filed by former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu. The plea challenges the high court’s decision not to quash the FIR against him in the Skill Development Corporation scam case.

Naidu, who was apprehended on September 9 last year, faces accusations of embezzling funds from the Skill Development Corporation during his tenure as chief minister in 2015. This purportedly led to a loss of Rs 371 crore to the state exchequer. Naidu vehemently denies these allegations. The Andhra Pradesh High Court granted him regular bail on November 20 last year.

A bench of the apex court, comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi, had on October 17 last year reserved its verdict on Naidu’s plea challenging the high court order from September 22, 2023, which refused to quash the FIR against him in the case.

In the course of the hearing before the apex court, the state’s counsel contended that Naidu’s petition for quashing the FIR should be dismissed. The argument was grounded in the assertion that the question of the applicability of Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act does not arise. This is because the provision came into effect in July 2018, while the CBI commenced its investigation in 2017.

Section 17A, introduced by an amendment effective from July 26, 2018, mandates that a police officer must obtain prior approval from the competent authority before conducting any inquiry or investigation into an offense alleged to have been committed by a public servant under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Naidu’s legal representatives countered that all allegations in the FIR relate to decisions, instructions, or recommendations made by Naidu during his tenure as chief minister. They argued that Section 17A is applicable in this case since the inquiry commenced in December 2021.

The TDP chief asserted that the FIR against him was registered without obtaining prior approval from the competent authority in the scam case. Consequently, he contended that his arrest was illegal. Naidu approached the Supreme Court challenging the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s order that dismissed his petition to quash the FIR in connection with the alleged scam.

The high court, in dismissing his petition, emphasized that criminal proceedings should not be thwarted at the initial stage. Quashing an FIR, according to the high court, should be an exception rather than the rule.