Skill development case: Supreme Court to hear Andhra Pradesh govt plea challenging bail to Chandrababu Naidu on May 7

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on May 7 a plea filed by the Andhra Pradesh government against a high court order granting regular bail to TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu in the skill development corporation scam case.

The plea came up for hearing on Tuesday before a bench of Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Pankaj Mithal which noted the counsel for the state has said they have lodged an interlocutory application (IA) in the matter. The bench observed that the said application does not appear to be part of the record. Subsequently, the bench asked to list the matter on May 7.

The Andhra Pradesh government has moved the apex court challenging the November 20, 2023 order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court which granted regular bail to Chandrababu Naidu. Earlier on November 28, 2023, the Supreme Court had sought a response from Naidu on the state’s plea against the high court order.

The apex court had also relaxed the bail conditions of the 73-year-old former chief minister and permitted him to participate in public rallies and meetings till December 8 last year, the next date of hearing. However, it had stated that other bail conditions, including him not making public statements or speaking to media about the case, will remain in force.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court had converted Naidu’s four-week interim medical bail, granted on October 31, 2023, into absolute bail on November 20 last year and directed his release considering his age, age-related ailments, non-flight risk and other reasons.

Former Chief Minister Chandrabau Naidu was arrested on September 9 last year for allegedly misappropriating funds from the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation during his term in 2015, resulting in a loss of more than Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer. Chandrababu Naidu has denied the allegations.