In a setback for former Union minister P. Chidambaram, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed his anticipatory bail plea in the corruption and money laundering cases related to INX Media scam. The Delhi High Court also declined interim protection from arrest to the Congress leader for approaching the Supreme Court in the corruption and money laundering cases.
This means that the former minister could now be arrested anytime for custodial questioning in the case. After the high court denied Chidambaram's anticipatory bail plea, senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, appearing for the former minister, sought stay on the operation of the order for three days, which the court denied.
Soon after the order, Chidambaram's counsel and Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, along with a team of lawyers, were exploring the possibility of moving the Supreme Court against the order. It is learnt that Sibal has been asked by SC official to place Chidambaram's petition before Registrar (judicial) Surya Pratap Singh, who will take a call for presenting it before CJI Ranjan Gogoi. Kapil Sibal told PTI that SC Registrar (judicial) has said that he will inform him about further developments on Chidambaram's plea. The matter is still pending in the Supreme Court.
Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Salman Khurshid have reached the Supreme Court and joined the deliberations on Chidambaram's case.
Chidambaram was denied relief by Justice Sunil Gaur, who delivered the Delhi HC judgement earlier in the day. "Both the petitions (in CBI and ED case) are dismissed," said Justice Gaur. He had reserved the decision on January 25.
During the arguments, both the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate had opposed Chidambaram's plea on the ground that his custodial interrogation was required as he was evasive during questioning.
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Both the probe agencies had contended that during Chidambaram's tenure as finance minister, FIPB clearance was granted to the media group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007.
ED contended that the companies in which money was transferred are directly or indirectly controlled by Chidambaram's son, Karti, and they have a reason to believe that the FIPB approval was granted to INX Media on his son's intervention.
The high court had on July 25, 2018 granted interim protection from arrest to Chidambaram in both the cases and it was extended from time to time.
The senior Congress leader's role had come under the scanner of various investigating agencies in the Rs 3,500-crore Aircel-Maxis deal and the INX Media case involving Rs 305 crore.
It was during his tenure as finance minister in the UPA-I government that clearances from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) were given to the two ventures.
In the INX Media case, the CBI had registered an FIR on May 15, 2017 alleging irregularities in the FIPB clearance granted to the media group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007 during Chidambaram's tenure as finance minister. Thereafter, the ED had in 2018 lodged the money laundering case in this regard.
Chidambaram's petition had said that though no summons had ever been served on him by the ED in this case, he had an apprehension of arrest in view of the summons issued to him by the CBI, which was investigating the scheduled offence.
(WIth PTI inputs)
