The Supreme Court will, on 6 March, hear a fresh plea from Karti Chidambaram, son of former Union minister P Chidambaram, seeking quashing of the Enforcement Directorate's summons against him in the INX Media case.
The apex court is likely to hear on 6 March the anticipatory bail plea of Karti Chidambaram, who is presently in CBI custody in the case.
In his fresh writ petition, Karti Chidambaram has challenged the summons on the ground that the ED has no jurisdiction to issue such notices based on the FIR lodged by the CBI.
The plea was mentioned on 5 March by his counsel before a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, which agreed to hear it along with related pending matters scheduled for hearing on 6 March.
When SC Refused to Stay ED’s Summons
The top court had earlier refused to stay the summons issued by the ED, saying he could make a request in this regard to the competent authority. It had posted the matter for hearing on 5 March after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Karti Chidambaram, had sought time to file a proper application to challenge the ED proceedings.
The apex court was hearing pleas, including the CBI's appeal, challenging the Madras High Court order staying a lookout circular (LOC) issued against Karti. The CBI had on 1 September last year said there were "good, cogent" reasons for issuing the LOC.
The Chidambarams, however, have denied all the charges made against them.
Earlier, a single judge bench of the Madras High Court had stayed the LOC issued against Karti Chidambaram and others in the graft case.
Later, the apex court considered the CBI appeal and stayed the operation of the high court order staying the LOC. The Supreme Court, however, has kept to itself another batch of petitions related to registration of FIR in the corruption case.
Karti Confronted with Indrani Mukerjea in Byculla Jail
Karti Chidambaram, arrested in the INX Media case, was on Sunday, 4 March, brought to the Byculla prison in Mumbai and confronted with Indrani Mukerjea as part of the CBI's probe into the matter, a senior official said.
The son of senior Congress leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram, was brought to the jail in central Mumbai around 11:15 am by a six-member team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), he said.
The official said Karti Chidambaram and Mukerjea were brought face-to-face and questioned by the CBI team for about four hours.
Mukerjea, a former director of INX Media (P) Ltd, is lodged in the jail in connection with the Sheena Bora murder case.
After the questioning, the CBI team left the prison along with Karti Chidambaram and headed towards the Mumbai airport.
While entering the prison, Karti Chidambaram waved at the media persons who had assembled outside the high security prison.
Karti Chidambaram and Mukerjea were questioned by the CBI as a part of its probe in the INX Media deal in which the former allegedly received kickbacks.
The doors of the prisons were shut and no other person from outside was allowed to enter the premises when the two were questioned, the official said.
The CBI team came out of the prison around 3:15 pm and a smiling Karti Chidambaram waved again at the media persons while standing on the footboard of a car being used by the agency.
He was asked by the CBI officials to get down from the footboard before they left the jail premises.
Karti Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI on 28 February after a confessional statement was given by Mukerjea before a magistrate.
He was sent to a five-day CBI custody on 1 March.
Karti Chidambaram, 46, was arrested at Chennai airport on his return from the United Kingdom, in connection with the FIR lodged on 15 May 2017 alleging irregularities in Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds worth about Rs 305 crore in 2007 when his father was the Union finance minister.
It is alleged that Karti had received funds to the tune of Rs 10 lakh in the case, officials had earlier said.
The fresh evidence in the case, which triggered his arrest, was based on the statement of Mukerjea, who recorded it under Section 164 of CrPC before a magistrate on 17 February.
The CBI alleged that Karti Chidambaram also received money from INX media to scuttle a tax probe. The firm was owned at the time by former media baron Peter Mukerjea and Indrani, who are currently in jail on charges of murdering Indrani's daughter Sheena Bora.
The Enforcement Directorate has also registered a money laundering case.
Investigating Agencies Past Searches at Chidambaram’s Properties
The CBI and the ED had carried out a series of searches at the houses and offices owned by the Chidambarams. Karti Chidambaram was questioned several times by the ED.
A Delhi court had on 1 March allowed the custodial interrogation of Karti Chidambaram by the CBI for five days, saying there was a need to unearth the larger conspiracy in the INX Media case and his presence would serve some important purposes connected with the investigation.
The court had said his CBI custody was necessary to confront him with documents and the co-accused, as well as to probe the role of others involved in the case.
(Hey there, lady! What makes you laugh? Do you laugh at sexism, patriarchy, and misogyny? Do 'sanskaari' stereotypes crack you up? This Women's Day, join The Quint's Ab Laugh Naari campaign. Pick up that beer, say cheers, and send us photographs or videos of you laughing out loud at buriladki@thequint.com.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)