Telugu Desam Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s hopes of taking rest in his cosy bungalow on the Krishna river bank at Undavalli in the name of house detention were dashed by the ACB special court in Vijayawada on Tuesday.
Justice Hima Bindu of the ACB court rejected Naidu’s petition seeking house-imprisonment, saying there was no such need as Rajahmundry jail, where he has been lodged since early hours of Monday is safer than his house.
Naidu, who was arrested by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) police on Saturday morning in connection with Rs 371 crore state skill development corporation scam, has been in Rajahmundry central prison on a two-week judicial remand since Sunday night.
The ACB court judge, who reserved her judgement after hearing the arguments of the petitioner and the state government on Monday, delivered her judgement, saying Naidu had no right to seek the house imprisonment, as there was no such provision in the rules.
She agreed with the arguments of state additional advocate general Ponnavolu Sudhakar Reddy that there was adequate security for Naidu in Rajahmundry jail, which he said was safer than his house.
There is no way the state can monitor Naidu’s security at home. Moreover, there is every possibility of Naidu influencing the witnesses and tampering the evidence if he was allowed to stay at home, the AAG argued.
Justice Hima Bindu rejected the argument of Naidu’s counsel and senior advocate Siddharth Luthra that his client had been facing a severe threat perception and there was no adequate security for him in Rajahmundry central jail, which also housed several hardcore criminals.
Meanwhile, the state Crime Investigation Department (CID) filed a separate petition in the court seeking 15 days of custody of Naidu. It is expected to come up for hearing on Wednesday, Sudhakar Reddy said.
