VIJAYAWADA: The ACB court in Vijayawada on Friday reserved its verdict on the former Chief Minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s bail plea and CID’s petition in connection with the skill development case. The Court posted the matter to October 9. The court is likely to pronounce its verdict on Monday, when the Supreme Court will resume the hearing of the Special Leave Petition (SLP) of the TDP chief, seeking to quash the case against him.
Continuing the arguments for the third consecutive day, Additional Advocate-General (AAG) Sudhakar Reddy, appearing for the CID, presented the documents regarding the date of transactions, the bank from which funds were transferred into the accounts of TDP before the court.
The AAG stated Rs 27 crore was diverted to the accounts of TDP through various shell companies. “Naidu resorted to criminal conspiracy and diverted public money to the accounts of the TDP by using his capacity as the Chief Minister of the State,” he argued in the court.
Sudhakar Reddy informed the court that Venkateswarlu, the Chartered Accountant who was auditing the accounts of the AP State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) and the TDP, had been summoned for questioning on October 10. The AAG contended that the auditor ensured that the diversion of the funds from the APSSDC to TDP never appeared in the public domain. Opposing Naidu’s bail petition, Sudhakar Reddy reiterated that there was a possibility that the TDP chief could influence the auditor if he was granted bail.
Further, the AAG argued that Section 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant) is applicable to Naidu in the present case. “Section 409 is an offence that attracts a punishment up to 10 years,” Sudhakar Reddy said and urged the ACB court to reject Naidu’s bail petition.
He sought custody of Naidu as the investigating agency wanted to get information about the financial dealings of the petitioner.He also said that the CID was also trying to get the Income Tax returns filed by the petitioner.
Countering the arguments, Naidu’s counsel Pramod Kumar Dubey said that the funds deposited in the accounts of TDP couldn’t be construed as funds diverted from shell companies to Naidu’s account.
Dubey also objected to the CID seeking custody as Naidu was already subjected to two-day custodial interrogation. After hearing both sides, the ACB court reserved its order.