INX Media Case: Court Extends Karti Chidambaram's Custody by Three More Days
Karti’s extension in the custody comes after the CBI underlined that it had "concrete credible evidence collected recently" against him.
New Delhi, March 6: Karti Chidambaram, son of former Union minister P Chidambaram will have to spend three more days in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in an alleged money laundering case related to INX Media. Karti’s extension in the custody comes after the CBI underlined that it had "concrete credible evidence collected recently" against him. Earlier this morning, Karti arrived in Patiala House Court for hearing in the INX Media money laundering case. Karti’s counsel Kapil Sibal told the bench today that Karti Chidambaram should not be arrested since there is no FIR by the Enforcement Directorate.
The CBI told the court that Indrani Mukerjea is one of the witnesses and holds important pieces of evidence. The investigative agency said that they are getting more evidence which cannot be divulged at this stage. They said they said more time for further investigations. As per reports, Karti has refused to share the passwords of his phones seized. When interrogated, Karti only said that he was a victim of political vendetta.
Karti was arrested by CBI last week and has been questioned for 5 days. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court refused to grant Karti and interim protection from arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged scam. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud sought a response from the ED on Karti Chidambaram's fresh plea seeking protection from arrest. The CBI also told the apex court that it will seek an extension of Karti Chidambaram's custody before the trial court today. The court posted the matter for further hearing on March 8.
Karti, a son of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, was arrested at Chennai airport last week on corruption charges. He was then flown to Delhi to appear before the court in connection with the mega scam. He has sought bail, pleading that there is no reason to hold him in custody, but has got no relief so far.
Meanwhile, Karti's counsel Kapil Sibal requested the SC for interim protection saying his client (Karti) could be taken into custody by the ED after his CBI custody expires today. AS per reports, the CBI earlier today had asked a Delhi court to extend Karti’s custody by another eight days but after the hearing, it was extended to only three days.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 06, 2018 05:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).