The Supreme Court on January 16 delivered a split verdict on former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu’s appeal to quash FIR against him in the skill development ‘scam’ case.
Justice Aniruddha Bose, the lead judge on the Bench, held that prior sanction from the competent authority under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act was necessary before proceeding against Mr. Naidu.
Associate judge on the Bench, Justice Bela M. Trivedi, however disagreed. The judge opined that Section 17A did not apply retrospectively. The FIR against Mr. Naidu was registered prior to the amendment in the Act, inserting Section 17A, in 2018.
The case has been referred to the CJI for listing it before an appropriate Bench of three judges.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court had on November 20 last year granted him regular bail in the case.
Section 17A was introduced by an amendment with effect from July 26, 2018 and the provision stipulates a mandatory requirement for a police officer to seek prior approval from the competent authority for conducting any enquiry or inquiry or investigation into any offence alleged to have been committed by a public servant under the Prevention of Corruption Act.