Karti Chidambaram suffers setback, SC declines to consider plea seeking to release Rs 10 cr deposited with registry

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to consider a petition of Karti Chidambaram, an accused in the INX Media money laundering case and Aircel-Maxis case, seeking to release Rs 10 crore that he had deposited with the registry as a condition to travel abroad earlier. The Supreme Court (SC) asked him to mention the matter before a Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, reported ANI.

On 7 May, the Supreme Court had allowed Karti to travel to the United States, Spain and Germany this month and next month. 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. [caption id=“attachment_4370419” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Karti Chidambaram. News18[/caption] The apex court had in January granted Karti, son of Congress leader P Chidambaram, 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. Former Union Finance Minister Chidambaram is also an accused in the INX Media money laundering case. In the INX Media case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (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 Enforcement Directorate (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 the Mukerjeas 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