The Andhra Pradesh High Court has asked the state Director General of Police (DGP) Gautam Sawang to appear in person for the next hearing over former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s arrest at the Vizag airport on Thursday. The court was hearing a petition filed by TDP leader and former MLA Tenali Sravan Kumar.
On Friday, the court had directed the DGP and the Visakhapatnam police to file a counter affidavit explaining the reason for taking Naidu into preventive detention after serving a notice under Section 151 of the CrPC. Section 151 of the CrPC empowers a police officer to arrest any person, without orders from a Magistrate and without warrant. The court had then postponed the next hearing in the case to March 2.
On examining the counter affidavit from the DGP as well as the Visakhapatnam Commissioner of Police on Monday, the court has reportedly asked the DGP to appear in person to further explain the reason for the actions of the police. The next hearing in the case will be held on March 12.
On Thursday, Naidu had arrived in Vizag for a two-day visit of the north Andhra region as part of his Praja Chaitanya Yatra. The campaign had been planned across the state to share criticism of various policies of the YSRCP government, including the move to decentralise the capital from Amaravati by setting up two more capitals in Vizag and Kurnool.
Naidu’s convoy was blocked at the airport by YSRCP workers and supporters, who were opposed to his visit. TDP workers were also present in huge numbers to offer their support, and police were deployed to control the situation.
With the blockade continuing for hours, the police issued a notice to Naidu under section 151 of the CrPC, claiming that it was “in the interest of the safety” of Naidu and his followers.
In the previous hearing held on February 28, the HC bench had observed that section 151 CrPC did not seem applicable to the case. The bench also found fault with the police for arresting Naidu despite granting prior permission for his campaign.