INX Media case: SC dismisses Karti Chidambaram's plea seeking release of Rs 10 cr deposit, asks him to pay attention to constituency

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea of Congress MP Karti Chidambaram seeking the return of Rs 10 crore which he had deposited with the apex court’s registry for travelling abroad.

Karti, who is an accused in the INX Media money laundering case involving Rs 305 crore, is facing criminal cases being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED). A vacation bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Aniruddha Bose rejected Karti’s plea and said, “Pay attention to your constituency.” [caption id=“attachment_4370419” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Karti Chidambaram. News18[/caption] The bench was hearing Karti’s plea in which he had sought the return of Rs 10 crore deposited earlier by him in the apex court’s registry, claiming he had taken the money on loan and was paying interest on it. On 14 May also, the Supreme Court declined to consider a petition of Karti seeking to release Rs 10 crore that he had deposited with the registry. On 7 May, the Supreme Court had allowed Karti to travel to the United States, Spain and Germany in May and June. A bench comprising Chief Justice Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna said this nod to travel abroad was subject to compliance of conditions imposed earlier. In January this year, the apex court had granted Karti permission to travel abroad after depositing Rs 10 crore with the secretary general of the Supreme Court. The top court had also asked him to file an undertaking that he would return and cooperate with the investigation. Senior Congress leader and Karti’s farther P Chidambaram is also an accused in the INX Media money laundering case. In the INX Media case, the CBI had registered a first information report (FIR) in May 2017 against alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007. Chidambaram was the then Union finance minister under the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Karti was arrested in February 2018 by the CBI for allegedly taking money to facilitate the FIPB clearance to INX Media in 2007. He was granted bail later. Both Karti and Chidambaram denied all allegations made by CBI as well as the ED. In October last year, the ED had attached properties worth Rs 54 crore belonging to Karti and a firm in the case. It also attached properties belonging to Peter and Indrani Mukerjea in connection with the same case. Chidambaram and Karti have come under the scanner of investigating agencies in the Rs 3,500-crore Aircel-Maxis deal as well. In July last year, the father-son duo was named in a charge sheet by the CBI in the Aircel-Maxis deal case. — With PTI inputs