SC dismisses plea for CBI probe against Chandrababu Naidu

The Supreme Court today dismissed a plea for a CBI probe into the alleged disproportionate assets owned by Andhra Pradesh former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

A bench of justices T S Thakur and Ibrhahim Kalifulla while refusing to interfere with the Andhra Pradesh High Court order, however, granted liberty to petitioner Y S Vijayamma, wife of state's late chief minister Y S Rajashekar Reddy, to approach the "competent court or authority" with her plea.

While acknowledging that the petitioner had the political rivalry with Naidu, presently the Leader of Opposition in the state's assembly, the apex court, however, made it clear that it was not going into the merits of her allegations. The state high court had earlier dismissed Vijayamma's plea saying it was politically motivated as several similar petitions had been filed earlier against Naidu.

The high court earlier, in an interim order, had directed a CBI probe against Naidu, who subsequently approached the Supreme Court arguing it was an ex-parte order passed without hearing him. The apex court on November 23 last year, while declining to interfere with the high court order, however, had asked him to approach the high court to challenge the interim order.

The high court subsequently had set aside its order for the CBI probe against Naidu, upon which Vijayamma had filed the present SLP.