Vijayawada: A local court here on Friday granted custody of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu to the CID for two days, during which he will be interrogated on the premises of the Rajamahendravaram Central Prison about the Skill Development Corporation scam in which he is accused.
Special Public Prosecutor Y N Vivekananda, representing the CID, told PTI that the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court has granted custody of Naidu to the police for two days — September 23 and 24 (Saturday and Sunday).
Earlier in the day, the Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed a petition filed by Naidu in which he had sought to get the FIR registered against him quashed.
“His (Naidu) custody will extend from 9 am to 5 pm on both days. He shall be accompanied by an advocate. He should not be ill-treated or subjected to harassment and other third-degree methods,” Vivekananda said, citing the court orders.
The Special Public Prosecutor noted that the CID would travel to the Rajamahendravaram Central Prison, where Naidu is currently detained, to interrogate him.
On both days, the CID will take over the former CM’s custody from 9 am to 5 pm and later hand him back to the jail authorities.
Naidu was arrested on September 9, for allegedly misappropriating funds from the Skill Development Corporation when he was chief minister in 2015, which resulted in a purported loss of over Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer.
After his arrest, he was remanded in judicial custody for a period of 14 days. Prior to granting police custody, the ACB court today had extended his judicial remand by two days till September 24.
Earlier in the day, when the high court dismissed Naidu’s petition for quashing of the FIR, it noted that his plea was devoid of merit and said the court was not inclined to interfere at this stage when the investigation is ongoing.
Further, the order highlighted that the HC will not allow a mini trial to be conducted on a petition filed under Section 482 of the CrPC (prevent an abuse of the process of any court or to secure the ends of justice).
The high court observed that police have the statutory right and duty under the relevant provisions of the CrPC to investigate a cognisable offence. It also stressed that the power of quashing should be exercised sparingly with circumspection.
Noting that criminal proceedings ought not to be scuttled at the initial stage, the HC said quashing an FIR should be an exception rather than the rule.
Furthermore, the high court said that an FIR is not an encyclopaedia which must disclose all facts and details relating to the offence reported. Hence, when the investigation by the police is in progress, the court should not go into the merits of the allegations in the FIR.
