(Written by Ajoy Sinha Karpuram) The Supreme Court on Tuesday (January 16) will decide if the case against former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandra Babu Naidu, regarding the skill development scam, should be quashed. A Bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela Trivedi heard the case in October 2023 and reserved the verdict on October 17. Naidu was placed in custody for over a month while the case was pending before the apex court. Here is all you need to know about the skill development scam, the charges against Naidu, and the case in the Supreme Court. The scam Chandrababu Naidu became the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh in 2014. Within months of coming to power, he announced an ambitious skill development programme to promote youth employment and entrepreneurship in the state. The idea was to set up a particular corporation, which would collect content from various educational courses offered across the country and abroad, and offer courses to students online based on this curated content. Naidu’s government signed an MoU with Siemens India to set up skill development centres, and in 2015, the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) was established. This Rs 3,356 crore project, however, came under fire in 2021, when current Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy dubbed it a ‘scam’ in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly. The charges against Naidu An FIR was filed against Naidu in December 2021. According to the Andhra Pradesh branch of the Crime Investigation Department at the time, at least Rs 241 crore earmarked for the project was diverted to five shell companies. Ostensibly, these companies were meant to provide IT resources to Andhra’s skill development centres. But instead, the money was allegedly sent to accounts linked to Naidu and his son Nara Lokesh. The CID also alleged that there was a lack of transparency and that attempts were made to destroy evidence linked to the investigation. Naidu’s defence so far The charges against Naidu were filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, which was amended in July 2018. Following the amendment, police agencies cannot conduct an investigation without prior approval from the state government if the allegations are connected to state affairs. According to Naidu, the CID investigation was never approved by the state government and the case must be quashed as a result of this procedural injustice. Further, Naidu has claimed that the case is a tool to advance the ruling YSR Congress’ “political vendetta” against Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party. Naidu filed a plea at the Andhra Pradesh High Court to quash the case against him. A case seeking the quashing of an FIR is essentially where the accused argues that the case made out against them stands on flimsy grounds, and does not merit a full trial, which could violate their personal liberty. But to no avail. In the Supreme Court After a September 22 order from the High Court rejected his plea, Naidu immediately approached the Supreme Court, filing a special leave petition to challenge the High Court order. The case was heard through the first couple of weeks of October last year. The State Government argued that the requirement to seek approval under the Prevention of Corruption Act did not apply in this case. It claimed that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began its probe all the way back in 2017, before the amendment requiring the state to seek approval came into force. Naidu, on the other hand, argued that the FIR was filed and the inquiry began in December 2021, making the probe illegal without prior approval. Meanwhile, on September 23, the same day he filed the petition in the apex court, Naidu was placed in judicial custody by the Andhra Pradesh CID. He was granted four weeks interim bail on October 31 on medical grounds by the AP High Court, which was later converted to regular bail in November. However, the former Chief Minister was constrained from making public comments on the case or from participating in public rallies until November 28.
