P Chidambaram Gets No Relief in INX Media Case, Supreme Court Dismisses Former FM's Plea For Bail
In a setback for former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed his plea against cancellation of anticipatory bail by the Delhi High Court in the INX Media case.
New Delhi, August 26: In a setback for former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed his plea against cancellation of anticipatory bail by the Delhi High Court in the INX Media case. This was one of the three petitions filed by Chidambaram, whose five-day CBI custody ends today. The apex court said Chidambaram cannot challenge cancellation of his anticipatory bail as he has already been arrested by the CBI.
The Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI arrested Chidambaram on August 21. Calling Chidambaram's petition "infructuous", a bench of Justices R Banumathi and AS Bopanna asked the senior Congress leader to move regular bail before an appropriate court. Justice Banumathi said there a judgment delivered by a Constitution of the Supreme Court which says once a person is arrested, the denial of anticipatory bail cannot be challenged in the apex court. Chidambaram Taken to Same CBI Headquarters That He Had Inaugurated in 2011, Watch Video.
On August 20, the Delhi High Court had dismissed the former Finance Minister's anticipatory bail pleas in both the CBI and the ED cases pertaining to the INX Media money laundering matter. In another blow, Chidambaram's petition challenging his CBI custody was not listed for a hearing at the top court. A bench told Chidambaram's lawyer Kapil Sibal that the petition would be listed only after "orders from Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi". P Chidambaram Arrested by CBI in INX Media Scam Case: Here's All That Happened Before the Dramatic Arrest.
The ED and the CBI are probing how Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram managed to get Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance for INX Media in 2007 when his father was the Finance Minister. On August 22, Chidambaram was produced before a special court which sent him in CBI custody. It is also alleged that his son Karti exerted influence on public servants of the FIPB in the Finance Ministry to prevent punitive action against INX Group.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 26, 2019 12:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).