The Andhra Pradesh High Court has granted regular bail to Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu in the Skill Development Corporation Scam case. This decision was taken after the arguments that were presented by Additional Advocate General (AAG) P. Sudhakar Reddy in favor of Andhra Pradesh Police Crime Investigation Department (CID) and Supreme Court lawyer Siddharth Luthra defending Naidu.
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The Andhra Pradesh High Court has granted regular bail to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief and the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu, relating to the Skill Development Corporation scam case. Siddharth Luthra, a Supreme Court lawyer who is also the lawyer of the TDP’s legal team defended Chandrababu Naidu in court.
Chandrababu Naidu’s Interim Bail Converted to Regular Bail
The Honourable High Court converted his four-week interim medical bail to regular bail and permitted him to actively participate in political activities starting from November 29.
Advocate Sunkara Krishnamurthy stated that Naidu had earlier got interim bail up to the 28th of November but after the recent prolonged arguments between both parties, the High Court granted him regular bail in the multi-crore Skill Development scam case. The Court order stated that the interim bail that was granted earlier had been made absolute and the petitioner was to be released on regular bail on the basis of a bail bond already furnished by him.
The Judge was of the view that Naidu was not to be held accountable for all the discrepancies indicated in the Forensic Audit Report. As per this report, around 241 crores out of 371 crores were misappropriated and diverted to other shell companies.
The High Court has instructed Chandrababu Naidu to appear before the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court and submit his medical reports on the 30th of November. However, some of the conditions of the interim bail such as abstaining from making any type of public comments related to the scam or taking active participation in rallies and meetings till the 28th of November would remain in force.
It is to be mentioned that Chandrababu Naidu was arrested on September 9 for alleged misappropriation of funds in the Skill Development Corporation as a consequence of which there was a loss of around Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer. He was released on interim medical bail that has been made regular.
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Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu (Picture Source- the Central Chronicle)
What is Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation Scam?
When Chandrababu Naidu came to power in Andhra Pradesh in 2014, he proposed to set up a skill development corporation under which various skill development clutters would be established in the state.
The pivotal role of the corporation was to provide professional skills to the unemployed youth of the state. The corporation would gather materials from different educational courses offered in different parts of the country as well as abroad and convert them to online courses which would be available to the students after their registration with the corporation.
The then-ruling government entered into an MoU with Siemens India to establish these centres. This project was accomplished by the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) in partnership with different organizations. According to the MoU, the cost of the project was estimated to be around Rs 3356 crores out of which the government would provide a 10% grant in aid while the remaining amount would be provided by Siemens. As of 2015, Naidu had virtually inaugurated 17 centers in the state.
In 2021, CM Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged that the corporation was a scam and Naidu was the main beneficiary of the scam. After an initial investigation, the state CID registered an FIR to continue further investigation on the matter.
Allegations of Andhra Pradesh CID
The major allegation was that the ruling government released Rs 371 crore in a hurry within three months while the partner company Siemens did not invest a single penny. Around 130 crores were spent while the remaining amount was diverted among companies namely Allied Computers, Skillers India Pvt Ltd, Knowledge Podium, Cadence Partners and ETA Greens. These companies were supposed to provide the essentials for the skill centers but they did not provide/sell anything to the then-ruling government.
In the investigation, the CID did not find any signatures of the then-Principal Secretary of Finance and the then-chief Secretary which raises questions on the transparency of the government. The CID also doubted that critical evidence linked to the scam may have been destroyed.
Based on the reports of CID, the Enforcement Directorate had conducted a separate inquiry into the matter. As of 2023, the ED (Enforcement Directorate) has arrested some other members linked to the scam. As per CID, Naidu is the chief conspirator of the scam along with TDP who are the prime beneficiaries. According to CID, the investigation is primarily locating the funds and their transactions about which only Naidu is aware.
