Chandrababu Naidu has been called the ‘main conspirator’ in the case.
Hyderabad:
Telugu Desam Party president and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who was produced before the Vijayawada Anti-Corruption Bureau court on Sunday morning after his arrest, told the court that he was wrongly accused of political gain. Citing technicalities from the statutory provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and claiming that there is no “substantiated allegation” against him, Mr Naidu requested the court to dismiss the remand report filed by the prosecution.
Any investigation or investigation relating to criminal offenses related to recommendations or decisions taken by a public servant in the exercise of official duties or functions must be done after a sanction from the person empowered to remove him from office, the lawyer for Mr Naidu, citing Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
“The petitioner was the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh at the time when the alleged offense was alleged to have been committed and the person removing the Chief Minister from office is His Majesty i.e. the Governor of Andhra Pradesh and therefore the prosecution needs prior approval obtaining the The Governor would even conduct an investigation into the above-mentioned case. So, there is a statutory violation and therefore the remand must be dismissed,” argued Supreme Court lawyer Siddarth Luthra, who is representing Mr Naidu along with a team of lawyers.
The alleged violations relate to a policy decision taken and approved by the State Cabinet, making it a decision of the State Government, which therefore cannot be questioned by initiating criminal proceedings, Mr. Luthra said.
The Rs 360 crore in dispute has been allocated by the state government to the Department of Skill Entrepreneurship and Innovation and included in the state budget for 2015-16, he said, adding that the same has been voted by the legislature and therefore it can happen. cannot be called into question by initiating criminal proceedings.
No role has been assigned to the suspect in the official complaint and police report on the siphoning of the funds, Mr Luthra argued. The First Information Report, or FIR, registered on December 9, 2021, also does not contain any allegations against Mr Naidu, he said.
“No criminal complaint can be filed and maintained in respect of acts done in discharge of official duties, and if there is misuse of funds at any level, the same should be dealt with in a different manner but not by means of prosecuting an Hon.” ‘ble Chief Minister’, read Siddarth Luthra’s petition to the court.
The TDP chief was arrested on Saturday in connection with an alleged Skill Development Corporation scam of Rs 300 crore following a pre-dawn police operation at Gnanapuram in Nandyala. He was arrested by police around 6 a.m. from a wedding hall, outside which his caravan was parked.
Mr Naidu has been called the ‘main conspirator’ in the case.
