A special CBI court on Thursday granted anticipatory bail for a record 22nd time to former Finance Minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram in both ED and CBI cases in Aircel–Maxis matter, reports ANI.
According to the reports, special Judge OP Saini granted relief to the father-son duo and directed them to join the probe in the cases. Currently, P Chidambaram is already in CBI custody in connection with the INX media case.
“In event of arrest, they should be released on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and one surety of like amount. The accused are directed to join the investigation,” the court said.
Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, appearing for the CBI, had requested Special judge OP Saini to consider the Supreme Court’s order pronounced today which refused to grant Chidambaram pre-arrest bail in the INX Media money laundering case lodged by the ED.
On August 23, the Delhi court had extended interim protection from arrest to former Union finance minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti in the Aircel-Maxis cases for a record 21st time.
Earlier in the day, in a huge setback to former finance minister P Chidambaram, the Supreme Court had refused him anticipatory bail in the INX Media case. This means the Enforcement Directorate can take him into custody for interrogation at any time.
The Aircel-Maxis deal emerged during CBI’s probe into 2G spectrum case which subsequently lead to revealing that how Congress leader, P Chidambaram, who was the finance minister in 2006, had granted a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval to a foreign firm when only the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) was empowered to do it.
The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that in return for the approval, a payment of Rs 26 lakhs was made by Aircel Televentures Ltd to ASCPL, allegedly linked to Karti Chidambaram.
The CBI has named P Chidambaram, his son Karti and 16 others in relation to suspected criminal misconduct related to approvals of investment deals. The CBI had also accused the former Finance Minister as ‘willful lawbreaker’ in its charge sheet filed in July.
