Andhra Pradesh High Court granted bail to former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu in three cases - in Inner Ring Road case, Liquor case and Sand Policy case. The High Court orders him to cooperate with the investigation of the case.
The Court also orders not to mention matters related to the case anywhere in public meetings and media platforms.
Skill Development case: SC issues notice to Naidu
Ealier in another case one month ago the Supreme Court sought a response from the TDP chief on a plea by the Andhra Pradesh government against a high court order granting regular bail to him. Nadidu had got relief from the court on November 28 in the skill development corporation scam case.
A bench of justices Bela M Trivedi and SC Sharma issued notice to Naidu and sought his reply. The top court also relaxed his bail condition and allowed him to participate in public rallies and meetings till December 8, which is the next date of hearing.
It, however, said that other bail conditions, including that the TDP leader will not make public statements or speak to the media about the case, will remain in force.
"Issue notice. Returnable on December 8. The conditions imposed in the bail order shall be continued except participation in public rallies and meetings," the bench said.
The Andhra Pradesh High court had converted Naidu's four-week interim medical bail in the case into absolute bail and ordered the former chief minister's release on regular bail, considering his age, old age-related ailments, non-flight risk and other reasons.
Seeking direction to set aside the high court verdict, the state government said the accused (Naidu) is an "influential person" and "has ensured that two of his key associates, including a government servant, have already fled the country.
On November 20, the Andhra Pradesh High Court had granted bail to Naidu while noting that the discretion to grant bail should be exercised judiciously in a humane and compassionate manner.
Naidu is accused of misappropriating funds from the Skill Development Corporation, which resulted in a purported loss of over Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer.
(With agencies inputs)
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