On Monday, the Supreme Court delivered a verdict dismissing the appeal by the Andhra Pradesh government that sought to challenge the anticipatory bail granted to Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief, N. Chandrababu Naidu, in connection with the Amaravati Inner Ring Road (IRR) scam case. The bench, comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, upheld the relief granted to Naidu by the high court on January 10.
The bench emphasized that a prior appeal linked to the same First Information Report (FIR), involving other accused, had already been rejected by the Supreme Court in November 2022. In light of this precedent, the bench expressed its disinclination to entertain the state government’s appeal. Despite this, the bench made it clear that any observations made during the grant of anticipatory bail to Naidu would not impede the ongoing investigation in the case. It stipulated that if Naidu failed to cooperate with the investigation, the state would have the right to seek the cancellation of his bail.
During the brief hearing, senior advocate Ranjit Kumar and advocate Mahfooz A Nazki, representing the state, contended that the high court had erred in assessing the case’s merits and misquoted facts when granting anticipatory bail to Naidu.
Justice Khanna questioned whether the matter pertained to the period between 2014-2019, drawing parallels with the Skill Development Corporation scam case. Kumar acknowledged the timeframe but argued that the issue of Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which requires prior permission for the registration of a corruption case against a public servant, might not be applicable to the present matter.
Justice Khanna insisted that if Section 17A applied, the state would need prior sanction. The bench directed Kumar to read out the offenses under the Indian Penal Code listed in the FIR against Naidu. When informed that Naidu faced charges of cheating under Section 420 and criminal breach of trust, Justice Khanna expressed skepticism about making a case of cheating against the former chief minister.
Kumar asserted that Naidu was the “primary architect” of the scam, benefiting from windfall gains resulting from his manipulation of the Inner Ring Road’s alignment during his tenure as Chief Minister. Justice Khanna cautioned against delving into questions of contract allocation and highlighted the need to focus on the specific charges at hand.
Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing Naidu, reminded the bench that on November 7, 2022, the Supreme Court had dismissed the state government’s appeal against the relief granted to a co-accused in the case. Justice Khanna questioned the need to deviate from this precedent, emphasizing the identical nature of the allegations, FIR, and facts.
Naidu faces accusations of corrupt practices related to the formulation of the master plan for Amaravati, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, including his involvement in decisions about the alignment of the Inner Ring Road during his tenure as Chief Minister. Notably, he has already obtained regular bail in the Skill Development Corporation scam case and protection from arrest in the FiberNet scam case. The FiberNet case involves alleged tender manipulation for a work order under Phase-1 of the AP FiberNet Project, amounting to ₹330 crore, favoring a specific company. The Andhra Pradesh High Court, on November 20, 2023, converted Naidu’s interim medical bail in the Skill Development Corporation scam case into regular bail, considering factors such as his age, ailments, and other non-flight risk reasons.
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