Naidu faces life threat in Central Jail, shift him to 'house arrest': lawyer pleads before court

Former CM Chandrababu Naidu's lawyers raised concerns before a Vijayawada court over life threat to him in the Rajamahendravaram Central Jail, seeking orders for shifting him to 'house arrest'. Naidu's lawyer Siddarth Luthra said that the Supreme Court issued an order placing human rights activist Gautam Navalakha, 70 years, under house arrest. Court reserved order, which is likely to be pronounced today.

Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) : Advocates arguing on behalf of the jailed former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu pleaded with a local court to place the TDP chief under 'house arrest'. The team of legal experts led by Supreme Court lawyer Siddarth Luthra in their arguments raised concerns that there was a threat to the security of Chandrababu Naidu in Rajamahendravaram Central Jail.

Luthra, in his prolonged arguments before the ACB court, said that there was a life threat to Naidu in the central jail and it was not proper to put the former CM in a prison where there are hardcore criminals. The Supreme Court lawyer said that Chandrababu Naidu had Z plus security category protectee and he has been under the protection of National Security Guards till now. Naidu is aged 73 years and struggling with diabetes and BP, Luthra told the court in his arguments.

However, the Andhra Pradesh CID opposed the plea of Naidu's lawyer and sought 15 days of custody of the former chief minister. Chandrababu Naidu is currently put in the Rajamahendravaram Central Jail after he was remanded to 14 days of judicial custody in the purported multi-crore scam relating to the AP State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC).

Naidu's lawyer told the court that there was a precedent in the past when human rights activist Gautam Navalakha, who was 70 years old, was placed under house arrest following the orders of the Supreme Court. On behalf of the AP CID, AP Advocate General Sriram and Additional Advocate General Ponnavolu Sudhakar Reddy presented their arguments.

After hearing the arguments, the judge reserved the order which is expected to be pronounced today.