The Supreme Court has postponed the hearing on the bail plea of Chandrababu Naidu in the FibreNet case.

The Supreme Court deferred the hearing on the anticipatory bail plea of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in the FibreNet case to November 30. The bench, comprising justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi, adjourned the matter, citing the pending judgment on another petition filed by Naidu seeking the quashing of charges in the skill development scam case, expected to be delivered after the Diwali vacation.

During the brief hearing, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing Naidu, requested the continuation of the initial arrangement where the police would refrain from arresting Naidu. Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, representing the Andhra Pradesh government, confirmed that the arrangement was still in place.

The Supreme Court had previously instructed the Andhra Pradesh Police not to arrest Naidu in the FibreNet case until a verdict was reached on the plea related to the skill development scam case. The court stated, "Let the earlier understanding continue," referring to the police's commitment on October 13 not to take Naidu into custody.

Justice Bose suggested that, since the judgment is reserved on another plea, it would be appropriate to address Naidu's current plea after the verdict is delivered. On October 13, the Andhra Pradesh Police had informed the court that they would not arrest Naidu in the FiberNet case until October 18 due to the pending petition related to the skill development corporation scam case.

The FibreNet case involves alleged tender manipulation in awarding a work order under Phase-1 of the AP FiberNet Project, amounting to Rs 330 crore, to a favored company. The Andhra Pradesh CID has accused irregularities in the project from tender award to project completion, causing a significant loss to the state exchequer.

Naidu, aged 73, was arrested on September 9 for alleged misappropriation of funds from the skill development corporation during his tenure as chief minister in 2015, leading to a purported loss of Rs 371 crore to the state exchequer. He is currently under judicial remand at the Rajamahendravaram central prison.