The Andhra Pradesh government, led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, strongly opposed the demand to transfer various cases filed by the previous Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government against him and other TDP leaders to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and other central agencies.
During a hearing on a petition filed by a senior journalist in the state high court, State Advocate General Dammalapati Srinivas and senior Supreme Court lawyer Mukul Rohatgi argued that it was inappropriate to request the CBI's involvement just because Naidu is now the chief minister.
They stated that investigations had been completed in five cases, with charge sheets already filed in court. Therefore, they contended, there was no need to transfer these cases to the CBI.
Dammalapati also mentioned that the government would file a detailed counter to the petition, asserting that all the cases were politically motivated and would be reviewed.
The high court directed the government to file a counter petition challenging the admissibility of the journalist’s petition.
The court also stated, "The public prosecutor is the final authority in withdrawing the cases."
The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the Andhra Pradesh police had filed seven cases against Naidu during the Jagan regime.
These cases include the AP Skill Development Corporation scam, alleged irregularities in AP Fibernet, the Amaravati inner ring road project, assigned lands, and liquor distilleries.
These CID cases are still pending in the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court and the high court. Naidu, who was arrested in the skill development corporation scam and jailed for nearly 52 days, has since been released on bail.
With the TDP now in power and Naidu as chief minister, it is anticipated that the current government will review and potentially withdraw these cases following legal procedures.
In fact, before Naidu assumed office, authorities had sealed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) office located in the CID premises at Mangalagiri.
Besides Naidu, the CID had also filed cases against his son Nara Lokesh, P. Narayana, K. Atchennaidu, Kollu Ravindra, Chintamaneni Prabhakar, former minister Devineni Umamaheshwar Rao, industrialist Lingamaneni Ramesh, former official Vemuru Harikrishna, and Principal Secretary of the Home Department Harish Kumar Gupta.
In July, the senior journalist filed a public interest litigation in the state high court, requesting that all CID cases against Naidu and others be handed over to the CBI and Enforcement Directorate to prevent the current government from diluting them.
The journalist alleged that, since the election results, some senior officials have been favoring the ruling TDP leaders.
He argued, “Under these circumstances, the state CID police will not be able to proceed with the cases against the chief minister and others. Therefore, these cases should be transferred to central investigation agencies.”
