HYDERABAD: In a significant development in a petition filed in 2005 by Lakshmi Parvati against former AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu alleging disproportionate assets, the Special Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court in Hyderabad has decided to record the statement of the petitioner (Lakshmi Parvati, wife of former chief minister late NT Rama Rao) on November 25.
The court has decided to hear the case since the stay granted earlier by the Andhra Pradesh High Court has elapsed and there was no further extension of such stay. In 2005, she filed the case before the ACB court alleging that Naidu has acquired disproportionate assets by corrupt means.
When Naidu filed an appeal challenging that complaint, the then AP High Court had granted stay on proceedings pending before the ACB Court. Since last 14 years, the stay was in operation and the high court had also refused to vacate the stay as pleaded by Lakshmi Parvati.
Last year, the Supreme Court had issued a blanket order by vacating stay orders in all the old civil and criminal cases. Following the Apex Court order, the stay granted in Naidu’s appeal also stood vacated. The counsel for Lakshmi Parvati told the ACB court that the stay granted by the High Court in 2005 was not in effect due to the Supreme Court’s verdict.
Any stay order will be in force for a maximum period of six months. In fact, there were no orders from the high court extending the above stay, he pointed out. Taking these submissions into consideration, the ACB special court decided to hear the case and posted the matter to November 25 for recording the statement of Lakshmi Parvati.