The Andhra Pradesh government on Tuesday demanded in the Supreme Court that TDP supremo and former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu be restrained from making any public comments related to the alleged FiberNet scam case.
Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing on the state government’s behalf, urged a bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi that Naidu be directed to not make any political statements about the pending case.
It may be recalled that the top court had already ordered the political leader to not make any public comments relating to the alleged Skill Development Corporation case.
In response, senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for Naidu, alleged that senior officials of the state government are holding press conferences in Delhi and other states in relation to the cases lodged against the former CM.
After hearing the submissions, the bench suggested that both sides should exercise restraint and adjourned the hearing till January 17, 2024.
It clarified that the undertaking given by the Andhra Pradesh CID that it will not arrest Naidu in the FiberNet case will continue till the next date of hearing.
Naidu is accused of playing a ‘key role’ in the AP FiberNet scam that happened during the TDP government in the state. The CID has accused him of exerting pressure on officials to favour a certain company that was awarded the FiberNet contract.