The Andhra Pradesh High Court has issued a stay order on the ongoing court proceedings related to the State CID's custody petition against former Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party leader, N Chandrababu Naidu, in connection with the multi-crore corruption case involving the Andhra Pradesh skill development program. The stay order is effective until Monday, September 18, 2023.

In a significant development, the court has directed the Vijayawada court not to consider the CID's custody petition against Chandrababu Naidu until the aforementioned date, and the CID has been instructed not to take him into custody during this period.

Chandrababu Naidu had moved to the High Court on Tuesday, seeking the cancellation of his judicial remand and the quashing of the case against him. This decision comes after a special court in Vijayawada had found a prima facie case against the former Chief Minister on charges including cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery, and corruption, leading to his 14-day judicial custody. His request for house remand was also denied.

In his plea, Naidu has vehemently denied the allegations, claiming that a false case was concocted against him for political reasons, with his arrest coming 22 months after the case was registered in December 2021. He further contends that the Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (APCID) did not follow due procedure when filing the case against him.

Additionally, Naidu argues that no specific allegations have been made against him, and the CID has failed to gather preliminary evidence to substantiate any of the charges brought against him.

A significant aspect of Naidu's plea is that the trial court's decision to remand him did not consider that the CID had failed to obtain prior approval from the governor, as required by Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Moreover, he has urged the High Court to not only cancel his remand but also halt the proceedings taking place before the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court in Vijayawada until the High Court concludes its hearing on his petition.

The case against Naidu alleges that he played a pivotal role in the corruption scandal during his tenure as Chief Minister of the state. He stands accused of diverting government funds intended for a skill development project into various shell companies through the use of fraudulent invoices.