Denied house arrest, Chandrababu moves 2 pleas in HC

After a local court in Vijayawada on Tuesday rejected a house custody petition filed by Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, his legal team moved two pleas in the high court -- one seeking quashing of the case and another a bail petition.

They are likely to come up for hearing on Wednesday.

The former chief minister was arrested for his alleged role in a multi-crore Skill Development Corporation scam and is currently lodged at Rajamahendravaram central prison after the court in Vijayawada remanded Naidu in judicial custody for 14 days on Sunday.

On Monday, a team of lawyers headed by senior counsel Siddharth Luthra representing Naidu had filed a petition to grant house custody to the former CM, citing threat perception.

Naidu has been a Z-plus category security protectee for several years already, with a team of National Security Guard (NSG) commandos guarding him always.

The court did not permit house arrest citing security, Naidu's lawyer Jayakar Matta told PTI.

According to Matta, the court felt that Z-plus security will not be provided under house arrest, so it is safer for Naidu to stay in jail than at home under house custody.

Further, the court said it could have given house custody if it was possible to successfully provide Z-plus security to Naidu. The court said jail is better for security reasons.

The court had no objection to according house custody, provided Z-plus security was also being extended inside Naidu's residence.

Meanwhile, the 73-year-old former chief minister's wife Nara Bhuvaneswari visited Naidu in prison on Tuesday and noted that she fears for Naidu's security in confinement.

"I am apprehensive of his security. I have not seen any facilities. He had to bathe with cold water," she said, saying her husband's arrest has put their family into 'tough times'.

However, the CID's legal team argued in the court that adhering to orders, several steps were taken such as creating a separate and exclusive ward, special security cover, round-the-clock monitoring, video surveillance, medical team on standby and others.

CID lawyers stressed that Naidu's ward has been separated from the main prison block to ensure a sanitised area, especially considering the special security requirements of the detainee.

They also said that additional precautions were taken in accordance with the need for a special security cover for Naidu -- who was the longest serving Andhra CM -- including deploying armed guards outside the special ward.

Further, they observed that strict access controls have been set up and only with the prior consent of Naidu can anybody visit him.

The CID lawyers also informed the court that senior prison officials, led by Rajamahendravaram central prison's superintendent, are present round-the-clock for personal supervision of security and other arrangements.

Besides 24/7 video surveillance, they stressed that a team of doctors has been stationed near the ward, and that they were complying with all the directions of the court.

Naidu was arrested in connection with a fraud case involving misappropriation of funds from the Skill Development Corporation, leading to a loss of over Rs 300 crore to the state government, AP CID Chief N Sanjay had said after the arrest.