PNS | VIJAYAWADA
The Supreme Court, on October 3, will hear the plea filed by Telugu Desam Party supremo and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu against his arrest by the CID in connection with the Skill Development Corporation scam case, after Justice SV Bhatti on Wednesday recused himself from hearing the matter.
The Bench did not pass orders giving any fixed date in the matter but granted liberty to mention the plea afresh before CJI DY Chandrachud for urgent listing.
Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for the TDP chief, went to the courtroom of the CJI for mentioning the plea seeking urgent hearing by a different Bench. However, a Bench headed by the CJI did not pass any directions for urgent hearing by a different bench or grant any interim relief, but said that the matter would be taken up for hearing on next Tuesday.
Before the CJI, Luthra said that Chandrababu was being “looped in FIRs after FIRs” only because of the upcoming 2024 general polls. He added that the application moved by CID seeking police custody of the TDP chief after expiry of 15 days from arrest amounted to “mockery of the Criminal Procedure Code”.
The CJI clarified that the top court would not pass any orders restraining the trial court from deciding the application seeking police custody or stay any other pending proceedings before the trial court.
On Sunday, the Vijayawada ACB court extended Chandrababu’s judicial custody till October 5 after his two-day police custody came to an end on Sunday. On Tuesday, the ACB court adjourned hearing to September 27 on the bail petition of Chandrababu, as well as on a CID petition seeking his further custody.
Naidu has approached the Supreme Court by filing a Special Leave Petition after a single-judge Bench of Justice S Reddy of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on September 22 dismissed his petition to quash the FIR registered against him and to set aside his judicial remand.
