New Delhi, August 26: Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the Supreme Court, questioned the interoggation conducted with his client by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). During the hearing of Chidambaram's petition seeking protection from arrest by ED, Kapil Sibal told the apex court that his client was asked about his Twitter account.

"CBI asking Chidambaram, do you have a Twitter account?... What kind of questions is being asked?" Sibal told the bench of Justices R Banumathi and AS Bopanna. "Chidambaram has been questioned for 26 and half hours by the CBI and the only question put to him is about whether he maintains a bank account in Britain," he claimed. The senior advocate also accused the ED of leaking documents to media houses. P Chidambaram Gets No Relief in INX Media Case, Supreme Court Dismisses Former FM's Plea For Bail.

Sibal said an affidavit of the ED was leaked even without having been filed in the Supreme Court. Reacting to this, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, on behalf of ED, said: "We haven't leaked it. In fact, they should answer how was the entire case being discussed by their legal team across TV channels." Sibal further objected to the submission of documents in a sealed cover. Chidambaram Taken to Same CBI Headquarters That He Had Inaugurated in 2011, Watch Video.

"If documents were available then why was he not confronted? Why did they pass the documents to Delhi High Court judge in sealed covers? This is a media trial," Sibal told the bench. "The Supreme Court may ask for transcripts of the three dates when he joined the ED probe. Let them show one property in name of Chidambaram and we will withdraw our petition," Sibal said.

He also claimed that on the three dates he appeared before the ED, Chidamabaram was never questioned about the will in favour of granddaughter or the alleged properties abroad. Chidambaram's legal team moved three petitions in the Supreme Court. While Chidambaram's petition challenging his CBI custody was not listed for a hearing, the top court refused to hear his petition against cancellation of anticipatory bail by the Delhi High Court in the INX Media case.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 26, 2019 01:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).