A court in Maharashtra has rejected a petition to recall a non bailable warrant issued against the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and asked him to appear in the court on October 16.
Dharmabad court in Nanded had issued the warrant against Naidu and 16 other leaders of Telugu Desam party in connection with a 2010 case of protest against Maharashtra’s irrigation project Babili. They were asked to appear before the court today but only three of them including a former MLA Gangula Kamlakar today appeared. The court granted them bail.
Naidu’s counsel G Subba Rao moved a petition to recall the warrant but the judge rejected it and issued a fresh warrant ordering all the accused to appear before him on October 16. On the plea of the counsel that Naidu was not in a position to come judge remarked, “nobody is above law. Be it a Chief Minister or anybody else everybody has to abide by he court order. It is not possible to give special treatment to anybody”.
Later the counsel sought some more time. Chandrababu Naidu after consulting the advocate general D Srinivas and other officials had decided not to appear in Maharashtra court and sent a lawyer from Hyderabad to represent him.
Chandrababu Naidu and several leaders of his party were arrested by Maharashtra police on border when they tried to enter the state to protest against Babili project. Naidu was then the lease of Opposition in United AP Assembly.