The Andhra Pradesh High Court has granted interim bail to Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu, who has been jailed for seven weeks now in connection with the alleged skill development scam case. The court granted Naidu interim bail for four weeks on medical grounds, asking him to surrender again on or before November 28. Naidu has been asked to furnish a bail bond for Rs 1 lakh with two sureties. The court also said Naidu will have to get treated at a hospital of choice at his own expense, and provide details about the treatment given to him and the hospital where he got treated, in a sealed cover to the Superintendent of the Rajahmundry Central Prison at the time of his surrender.
Naidu has also been directed to not make any direct or indirect inducement, threat, or promise to anyone acquainted with the facts of the case to dissuade them from disclosing such facts to the court or any other authority.
The court also prohibited him from participating in any public programmes and to venture out in public only for hospital visits. The court will hear arguments on the main bail petition on November 10. Naidu has been lodged in the Rajahmundry Central Jail for about fifty days since September 11. He had sought interim bail to “facilitate the undertaking of necessary medical tests and treatment under the supervision of his personal physician.”
“Considering the painful and pressing nature of the petitioner's reported health conditions, and without delving into the merits of the case, this Court is inclined to grant interim bail solely for the purpose of allowing the petitioner to undergo the necessary medical examination. The medical report clearly indicates that the petitioner requires cataract surgery on his right eye. Therefore, it is a reasonable proposition to permit him to seek treatment at the same hospital where he had the surgery for his left eye,”the court said.
The CID has named Naidu as an accused in five cases, the latest being the alleged illegal liquor licence case. The others are the skill development corporation scam case, the FiberNet scam case, the Amaravati Inner Ring Road alignment case and the Angallu riot case.
In a recent letter to the Vijayawada Anti-Corruption Bureau court, Naidu had alleged that some left-wing extremists were conspiring to assassinate him in jail and sought Z+ security. He also claimed that various security breaches took place and that his safety has been compromised.
Meanwhile, Naidu’s lawyers had also approached the Supreme Court to quash the CID’s FIR in the skill development scam case. Arguments related to the plea were completed on October 18, and the apex court is yet to pronounce its verdict.