Chandrababu Naidu custody extended by High Court

HC dismisses CBN's quash petition. Today, the Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed the quashing plea filed by former Chief Minister of the state and Telugu Desam Party leader, N. Chandrababu Naidu, in connection with the multi-crore Skill Development Scam case.

Justice K. Sreenivas Reddy noted that prosecuting Chandrababu did not require prior sanction, as the use of public funds for personal gain couldn't be considered an official duty.Naidu had argued that the prosecution obtained sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption and that there was no case against him, given that the project was operational. 

However, the Court rejected this, stating that Chandrababu's actions were not part of his official duties.The state had requested not to obstruct the investigation within only 10 days of its registration, which the Court agreed with, emphasizing that in cases of serious economic offenses, a different approach is warranted, especially at the early stages of investigation.

The Court also highlighted that in the face of disputed facts, it couldn't conduct a mini-trial. The investigating agency had examined over 140 witnesses and collected over 4000 documents. As the investigation nears completion, the Court declined to interfere with the ongoing proceedings. The case alleges a conspiracy to misappropriate public funds, where a project worth a fraction of the claimed amount saw substantial misappropriation.