Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has received a major legal victory, with the Supreme Court dismissing a petition seeking to transfer the CID cases against him to the CBI. The petition, filed by High Court lawyer Balayya, aimed to move the ongoing investigations from the state CID to the central agency. However, the Supreme Court bench, led by Justice Bela Trivedi, rejected the petition. Justice Trivedi expressed her frustration, questioning the validity of the petition and stating, “I never imagined senior lawyers like you would handle such cases,” adding that it was completely baseless. She further warned that a hefty fine would be imposed if further comments were made about the petition.
The petition had sought the transfer of seven CID cases against Naidu, filed during the tenure of the previous YSRCP government. The cases involved allegations ranging from skill development projects to land deals related to Amaravati, AP FiberNet, and the free sand policy. In one of the cases, Naidu was arrested and spent over 50 days in Rajamahendravaram Central Jail before securing bail.
The legal battle continued as Andhra Pradesh entered a new political scenario with the NDA coalition grabbing power post general elections and Naidu coming again as Chief Minister, and subsequently, a journalist filing a petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court with a request that the cases be transferred to CBI citing the scandal surrounding the impartiality of the investigating officials. The matter was again dismissed by the bench when it reached the Supreme Court.