LI Network
Published on: January 17, 2024 at 11:00 IST
The Supreme Court provided a split verdict on Tuesday regarding a petition filed by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, challenging criminal proceedings against him in the alleged Skill Development Corporation scam case.
The Special Bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi delivered the split judgment on whether proceedings against the former Chief Minister could be initiated without obtaining sanction from the Governor of the state.
Justice Bose expressed the opinion that any action initiated under the Prevention of Corruption Act without obtaining prior approval under Section 17-A of the Act would be deemed “illegal.” However, he granted the state government the liberty to secure fresh sanction for prosecuting the TDP leader.
On the contrary, Justice Trivedi opined that the non-obtaining of sanction could not serve as grounds for quashing the FIR registered against a public servant under the penal code. She upheld the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s September 2023 order, dismissing Naidu’s petition to quash the criminal proceedings and set aside his judicial remand.
As a result, the matter has been referred to the Chief Justice of India for appropriate orders to constitute a larger Bench to decide Naidu’s plea.
It is worth noting that Naidu had been granted regular bail on the bail bond he provided by a bench of Justice T Mallikarjuna Rao of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on November 20 last year.
The Andhra Pradesh Government has now approached the Supreme Court, challenging the decision of the High Court.