Hyderabad: The ACB court on Tuesday, September 12, rejected the house custody petition filed by former AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s counsel in the skill development program scam case.
The ACB court delivered the judgement rejecting Naidu’s plea to convert the jail remand to a house remand after agreeing with the arguments made by the AP CID.
A team of legal experts led by Supreme Court lawyer Siddarth Luthra in his arguments expressed concerns over the security of Naidu in the prison while the CID opposed it.
Post the judgement, Naidu’s counsel moved the Andhra Pradesh High Court challenging the ACB court’s order remanding him to 14 days of judicial custody.
“House arrest was not granted. The reason cited by the Court for not giving house arrest is security,” Naidu’s lawyer Jayakar Matta told PTI.
Naidu has been a Z-plus category security protectee for several years already, with a team of NSG commandos guarding him always.
According to Matta, the Court felt that Z-plus security will not be provided under house arrest, so, it is safer for Naidu to stay in jail than at home under house custody.
Further, the court said it could have given house custody if it was possible to successfully provide Z-plus security to Naidu. The court said the jail is better for security reasons.
The AP HC will hear the case tomorrow on Wednesday, September 12.
Currently, the former chief minister is lodged in the Rajamahendravaram Central Prison in East Godavari district.
(With excerpts from PTI)
