SC declines out-of-turn listing for Naidu's plea in ₹371 crore scam case

The Supreme Court, on Monday has declined to grant an out-of-turn listing for the petition filed by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu. The petition sought the quashing of the case filed against him by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) in an alleged ₹371 crore development scam.

Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud asked senior counsel Sidharth Luthra, representing Naidu, to request a date for a hearing following the established norms.

The CJI stated, "Mention it tomorrow. It has to come in the mentioning list. Please, come tomorrow," after Luthra sought an early hearing date, citing Naidu's custody since September 8.

Justice Chandrachud further explained that he couldn't entertain the plea as it was not included in the mentioning list, following the guidelines for assigning hearing dates based on different categories of cases.

After the Andhra Pradesh high court rejected his request to quash the first information report (FIR) in the case, Naidu moved the Supreme Court, referring to his arrest as an act of "regime revenge and political vendetta." In his appeal to the top court, Naidu highlighted that he had been suddenly named in the FIR, which had been registered over 21 months ago.