Skill Development Case: No relief for ex-AP CM Naidu

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea filed by former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu seeking quashing of an FIR registered against him in connection with the alleged multi-crore skill development corporation case.

Upholding the remand passed by the magistrate and the Andhra Pradesh High Court decision to dismiss Naidu's quashing plea, a division bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi, however, differed on the interpretation of Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.

The said section makes prior sanction of the government mandatory to prosecute a public servant in relation to an act done in discharge of his/her official functions or duties.


Justice Bose held that complying with the requirement of prior sanction under Section 17A is necessary and such sanction has to be obtained even for acts prior to 2018 when Section 17A was inserted.