SC asks Karti Chidambaram to approach Delhi HC for relief

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked Karti Chidambaram, son of former finance minister P Chidambaram, to approach the Delhi High Court for interim relief in the INX Media money laundering case.

The court facilitated Karti to withdraw the writ petition against arrest at the hands of the Enforcement Directorate, permitting him to move the Delhi High Court today itself for relief and requesting the high court to hear on Friday his plea for protection against interest, also asking the acting chief justice to allocate the matter to the appropriate bench.

The apex court’s order was stoutly opposed by additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who said such an order by the SC could send a wrong signal to all those who face money laundering cases and feel they can move the apex court with writ petitions to get interim protection or facility to move the HC for urgent hearing.

Karti's lawyer Kapil Sibal, meanwhile, objected to Mehta putting a spoke in the relief the SC was about to grant and said - "law officers for years have a tendency to dictate the SC about what orders to be passed. This is a constitutional court and no one should dictate."

Reacting to Sibal’s comment, a bench of CJI Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud took strong exception to the lawyer’s remark about the SC being dictated by law officers.

Mehta found an opening and also joined in with a comment - "this is not in good taste."

Upon getting the desired order from the apex court, Sibal, later, apologised for his comment, but qualified his apology by saying the remark was made because he was upset at the way matters related to the case were proceeding.

Karti was arrested on February 28 at the Chennai airport on his return from the United Kingdom in connection with the FIR lodged on May 15 last year alleging irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds worth about Rs 305 crore in 2007 when his father P Chidambaram was the Union finance minister.