NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned to January 19, next year, the hearing of the Andhra Pradesh government's plea against the State High Court order granting regular bail to former Chief Minister of AP, N Chandrababu Naidu in the skill development corporation scam case.
A two-judge bench of the Apex Court, headed by Justice Bela M Trivedi and also comprising Justice Satish Chandra Sharma deferred the hearing to January 19, 2024.
Andhra Pradesh government had moved the Top Court against the State High Court order granting regular bail to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Chief, Naidu in the skill development corporation scam case.
Andhra Pradesh's Crime Investigation Department (CID) arrested Naidu on September 9 in connection with a fraud case involving the misappropriation of funds from the Skill Development Corporation, and he had allegedly made a loss to the State exchequer to the tune of Rs 300 crores.
It is significant to note that Naidu has already secured regular bail in the Skill development scam, till further orders.
Andhra Pradesh government's petition in the top court said that the alleged crime against Naidu relates to a project involving the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC), Siemens Industry Software (India) Pvt. Ltd and DesignTech India Private Limited for the establishment of SIEMENS centres of excellence and skill development in six clusters in Andhra Pradesh.
Naidu has been accused of expedited incorporation of the APSSDC by overruling objections that it required Cabinet approval.
It is alleged by the present Andhra Pradesh government that Naidu allegedly created his choice of appointments in the APSSDC to “facilitate the scam”.
Naidu, it is alleged by the state government, also entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Siemens and DesignTech without any tender process.
He also expedited the release of funds for the project “before any work was done, even overruling the objections of senior officers such as the Finance Secretary”, the state govt alleged in the petition filed before the Top court.