Andhra Pradesh High Court dismisses N Chandrababu Naidu plea to quash FIR in skill development scam

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Friday dismissed the plea by former State Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu seeking quashing of the first information report (FIR) registered against him in the Andhra Pradesh skill development program scam [Nara Chandrababu Naidu v. State of Andhra Pradesh]..Justice K Sreenivasa Reddy observed that the acts alleged against Naidu could not be said to be in good faith and in discharge of his official duties as Chief Minister.Therefore, no prior approval from the competent authority was necessary for investigation into the offences alleged, the Court held.."Section 17A of the PC Act cannot be made applicable in those cases where the act of the public servant that amounts to an offence appears on the face of it lacking in good faith. Issuing public building license and no objection certificates cannot be said to be acts done in good faith...Use or utilization of public funds by a public servant under the colour of authority but really for his own benefit cannot be considered as an act done in discharge of his official functions or duties. Such an act is not entitled to get the protection under Section 17A of the Act," the Court stated..Senior Advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Naidu, had brought to the Court's attention that the FIR was registered on December 19, 2021 whereas Naidu was arrayed as an accused on September 7, 2023.Salve further contended that Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act was not complied with as no permission as contemplated in the provision was obtained from the competent authority.He said that Naidu's implication was nothing but a ‘regime revenge investigation’ and that the instrumentality of the State was being weaponised for using the force of criminal law.He further contended that even if all the accusations were to be believed, there was no prima facie case against Naidu..Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, also appearing for Naidu, had supplemented Salve's arguments and underlined that under section 17A, investigation against a public servant, for acts done in discharge of official duties, without prior approval..On the other hand, Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Ranjit Kumar for the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had contended that the proceedings could not be quashed as the investigation was at its nascent stage.Rohatgi argued that section 17A was not a bar as Naidu, being the head of the executive government, was involved in a calculated and deliberate scam which misappropriated ₹370 crores of public money.Further, he asserted that there was no need for prior sanction under section 17A for investigation of offences prior to July 26, 2018, the date on which the the provision was inserted into PC Act..Additional Advocate General Ponnavolu Sudhakar Reddy had underlined that the enquiry in the crime had commenced much prior to the insertion of section 17A into the Act and as such, there was no bar on the police to investigate..After observing that the Naidu's actions could not be said to be in good faith and in discharge of his official duties, the Court opined that a mini trial could not be conducted by it in a petition under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)."The investigating agency, pursuant to the registration of the crime in the year 2021, examined as many as more than 140 witnesses and collected documents to the tune of more than 4000. Profligacy is such an esoteric subject, where investigation has to be carried with utmost proficiency by the professionals," it added.Hence, since the investigation was on the fulcrum of attaining finality, the Court determined that no interference was required. Accordingly, it dismissed Naidu's plea as devoid of merits..[Read Order]