Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party head Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s plea for quashing the FIR against him in a multi-crore scam in his state’s skill development scheme has been postponed after Supreme Court judge Justice SVN Bhatti, who was hearing the case with Justice Sanjiv Kahanna, recused himself from hearing the matter.
Soon after the matter was called for hearing, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who was heading the bench, said, “My brother (Justice Bhatti) has some reservation in hearing the matter.” He then said the matter will now come next week.
However, senior advocates Harish Salve and Siddharth Luthra, both appearing for Chandrababu Naidu, asked the bench to pass over the matter, so that they can mention it before Chief Justice DY Chandrachud for listing before another bench.
Later, a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra said Naidu’s plea for the quashing of FIR will be now listed for hearing on October 3. Posting the matter for October 3, the bench made it clear that it will not interfere with the trial court hearing the matter on Wednesday. “We will not restrain the trial judge from dealing with the application. We will keep it on October 3,” the CJI said.
Making a mention, Luthra told the bench that the matter concerns personal liberty and there was no sanction for launching the prosecution.
Referring to Code of Criminal Procedure provisions, Luthra said after the expiry of 15 days from the date of arrest, the police cannot seek Naidu’s custody. Luthra said Naidu was taken into custody on September 9.
Naidu also sought to link Naidu’s prosecution with the 2024 state assembly election.
After senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, representing the Andhra Pradesh government, said the trial court (ACB court, Vijayawada) was hearing Naidu’s bail plea, and the top court will be informed about the outcome on October 3.