Supreme Court reserves verdict on Naidu plea in corruption case
Naidu, 73, was arrested on September 9 on charges of misappropriating funds from the Skill Development Corp when he was the chief minister in 2015
The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved verdict on former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu's petition challenging a high court order refusing to quash the FIR against him in a corruption case.
Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi reserved the verdict after hearing the submissions of senior advocate Harish Salve, who appeared for Naidu, and Mukul Rohatgi, who represented the state government.
Naidu, 73, was arrested on September 9 on charges of misappropriating funds from the Skill Development Corp when he was the chief minister in 2015.
This is said to have caused a purported loss of Rs 371 crore to the state exchequer. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief is now lodged in the Rajamahendravaram central prison. The CID alleged that Naidu "indulged in a criminal conspiracy with the intention of fraudulent misappropriation or otherwise conversion of government funds for his own use, disposal of property which was under the control of a public servant, besides engaging in cheating, forging documents and destroying evidence".
Dismissing his petition, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on September 22 said criminal proceedings ought not to be scuttled at the initial stage and quashing a FIR should be an exception rather than the rule.
(With agency inputs)
