Delhi High Court on Tuesday raised the temperature of the political field after rejecting Congress MP P. Chidambaram’s request for an anticipatory bail in the INX Media Case and allowed the CBI and ED to arrest the senior congress MP and former finance minister for further investigations. Following this, the Congress leader requested the Delhi High Court to protect him from arrest as he wanted to appear in the Supreme Court, but the court instead permitted the agencies to arrest him before he appears in supreme in case they require to proceed with their interrogation.
❍ Chidambaram Is Untraceable Since HC Rejected His Bail Application
One of the most senior-most leaders of congress, P. Chidambaram was not at home when the CBI went to arrest him, after the court hearing. The authorities, therefore, pasted an official notice outside Chidambaram’s house to appear before the undersigned investigation officer but got no response from the accused. The notice reads as “Whereas it appears that you are acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case noted below….you are hereby directed to attend before me within two hours of the receipt of this notice for the purpose of investigation of the case.”
They only received a request from his lawyer Arshdeep Sing Khurana and wanted more details about the provision for pasting the notice. He also confirmed that his client would appear in front of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, and the same authority has approved his application of special leave till then.
“I am instructed to state that your notice fails to mention the provision of law under which my client has been issued a notice to appear within two hours… He (Mr. Chidambaram) has been permitted by the Supreme Court to mention the urgent special leave petition against the order before the court at 10:30 am today. I, therefore, request you not to take any coercive action against my client till then and await the hearing at 10:30 am…” – Advocate Arshdeep Singh Khurana
❍ Last year brought problems for the former MP as he got orders for these two cases.
In July 2018 the HC approved his request for interim protection from arrest. The court, on his request, continued extending his bail time and again. The case was not going anywhere, and the agencies sought permission to arrest the leader for interrogation purposes. The leader was sure that the court would extend his interim bail once again, but his speculations were wrong this time.
❍ High Court’s Verdict against P. Chidambaram in INX Media Case
The INX Media Case is being handled by Justice Sunil Gaur who on Thursday rejected the request for anticipatory bail and protection from arrest.
“Bail application dismissed,” – he finally said after the hearing. The Rose Avenue Court listened to both parties and was convinced with CBI’s proofs, and the raised issues Karti Chidambaram’s company illegally got approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) while his father was the finance minister.
The court treated it as a classic money laundering case.
“It cannot be forgotten that the petitioner was the finance minister at the relevant time and he had given FDI clearances to the INX Media group for receiving overseas funds to the tune of ₹305 crores… Simply because he is a Member of Parliament, it would not justify a grant of pre-arrest bail to him” – Official Order
❍ The Story of INX Media Case
It all started in 2007 when P. Chidambaram was handling the Ministry of Finance. The finance minister granted clearance to the INX Media, as they had applied for permission to receive funds for overseas. The amount registered in the case is around 305 crores INR. Following this, The Crime Branch of India (CBI) on 15 May 2017, registered an FIR against the finance minister whose department provided the clearance to INX Media. After this, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) also registered a complaint of money laundering in 2018.
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