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Chandrababu Sent To 14-Day Judicial Custody

By LokMarg 10th September 2023

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday sent to 14 days judicial custody in connection with an alleged Skill Development Corporation scam.

Vijayawada ACB court Judge Himabindu read out the judgment on former CM Chandrababu’s case.

The judge ordered the remand of Naidu for 14 days to judicial custody and suggested to take former CM to Rajahmundry central jail.

Earlier on Sunday morning, Naidu was produced before the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court in Vijayawada in connection with an alleged Skill Development Corporation scam.

According to the officials, the former CM was produced before the court within 24 hours of his arrest.

On Saturday, Chandrababu Naidu was arrested by the Andhra Pradesh Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in connection to an alleged corruption case.

According to officials, the case pertains to the establishment of clusters of Centers of Excellence (CoEs) in the state of Andhra Pradesh, with a total estimated project value of Rs 3300 crore.

The agency officials also claimed that the alleged fraud has caused a huge loss to the state government in excess of Rs 300 crores.

As per the CID, the investigation has revealed serious irregularities such as before any expenditure by private entities, the then state government provided an advance of Rs 371 crores, representing the entire 10 per cent commitment by the government.

Most of the money advanced by the government was diverted to shell companies through fake invoices, with no actual delivery or sale of the items mentioned in the invoices, CID officials said.

In its remand report, the CID has said that according to the investigation so far, the total amount spent by private entities on six skill development clusters is sourced exclusively from funds advanced by the Government of AP and AP Skill Development Center, totalling Rs 371 crores. (ANI)

I Want Him To Win The Fight, Chandrababu’s Wife On His Arrest

By LokMarg 9th September 2023

After the arrest of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in connection with an alleged corruption case, his wife Nara Bhuvaneshwari expressed her hope that Naidu should win the fight which he has been fighting for the freedom of the people of the state.

“Chandrababu Naidu continued his fight not for his family but for the freedom of the people of Andhra Pradesh. I want him to win the fight,” Bhuvaneshwari said.

Chandrababu Naidu’s wife Nara Bhuvaneshwari earlier visited to Durga Devi temple to offer prayers.

“A child goes to a parent when they are upset. That’s why I came to the deity (at Durga Devi temple) to share my pain. I prayed to the deity to protect my husband and give him courage,” she added.

The TDP chief was taken into custody by the Andhra Pradesh Criminal Investigation Department (CID), in connection with the alleged skill development scam case. A First Information Report (FIR) in the case was lodged in 2021.

As police arrived early Saturday morning to arrest the TDP Chief, they faced resistance from TDP cadres. A minor scuffle also broke out between officials and Naidu’s supporters during his arrest.

Meanwhile, N Chandrababu Naidu, who was later arrested on an alleged case of corruption, said that the CID made the arrest without any proper information and that they refused to show him evidence.

Talking to mediapersons prior to his police custody, Naidu said, I did not commit any malpractice or corruption. CID arrested me without any proper information, and I asked them to show the evidence, but they refused to show it and attached my name to the FIR without my role.”

Naidu has been named as accused number 1 in the case, which involves over Rs 250 crore.

Details of the FIR and other details were provided to Naidu’s advocates, who also demanded prima facie evidence, pointing out that the former chief minister’s name was not mentioned in the FIR report.

The former Andhra Chief Minister has been charged under sections for criminal conspiracy, cheating, and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property.

“It is to inform you that you have been arrested under CrPc’s Sections 120(8), 166, 167, 418, 420, 465, 468, 471, 409, 201, 109 rw 34 and 37 IPC and other sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988,” the notice issued under Section 50 (1) (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The State Police also detained several party leaders, including Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh, in East Godavari district as a preventive action to maintain law and order in the state. (ANI)

SC Assures Bilkis Bano Of Early Hearing

By LokMarg 7th February 2023

The Supreme Court on Tuesday assured Bilkis Bano, who challenged the pre-mature release of 11 convicts for gang-raping her and murdering her family members during the 2002 Godhra riots, that her plea against the remission granted to 11 convicts will be heard soon.

A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala will constitute a bench soon for Bano’s plea.
Advocate Shobha Gupta, appearing for Bano, mentioned the matter for urgent hearing and said that a new bench needs to be constituted by the CJI as Justice Bela M Trivedi recused from hearing the plea.

“I will do so at the earliest. The matter will be listed soon,” said the CJI.

Earlier, a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi ordered that matter be listed before the bench which Justice Trivedi is not a part of as she had recused herself from hearing the case.

Besides filing a petition against the per-mature release of convicts, Bano had also filed a review petition seeking a review of its earlier order by which it had asked the Gujarat government to consider the plea for the remission of one of the convicts.

The review petition was dismissed.

Some PILs were filed seeking directions to revoke the remission granted to 11 convicts.

The pleas were filed by the National Federation of Indian Women, whose General Secretary is Annie Raja, Member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Subhashini Ali, journalist Revati Laul, social activist and professor Roop Rekha Verma and TMC MP Mahua Moitra.

Gujarat government in its affidavit had defended remission granted to convicts saying they completed 14 years of sentence in prison and their “behaviour was found to be good”.

The State government said it has considered the cases of all 11 convicts as per the policy of 1992 and remission was granted on August 10, 2022, and the Central government also approved the ore-mature release of convicts.

It is pertinent to note that the remission was not granted under the circular governing grant of remission to prisoners as part of the celebration of “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, it has said.

The affidavit stated, “State government considered all the opinions and decided to release 11 prisoners since they have completed 14 years and above in prisons and their behaviour was found to be good.”

The government had also questioned the locus standi of petitioners who filed the PIL challenging the decision saying they are outsiders to the case.

The pleas said they have challenged the order of competent authority of the government of Gujarat by way of which 11 persons accused in a set of heinous offenses committed in Gujarat were allowed to walk free on August 15, 2022, pursuant to remission being extended to them.

The remission in this heinous case would be entirely against public interest and would shock the collective public conscience, as also be entirely against the interests of the victim (whose family has publicly made statements worrying for her safety), pleas stated.

The Gujarat government released the 11 convicts sentenced to life imprisonment on August 15. All the 11 life-term convicts in the case were released as per the remission policy prevalent in Gujarat at the time of their conviction in 2008.

In March 2002 during the post-Godhra riots, Bano was allegedly gang-raped and left to die with 14 members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter. She was five months pregnant when rioters attacked her family in Vadodara. (ANI)