Former Union minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram. (File)A Delhi court on Friday extended till March 25 the interim protection from arrest granted to former Union minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti in connection with the Aircel-Maxis cases filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Special Judge O P Saini adjourned the hearing after senior advocate Sonia Mathur, appearing for the CBI, sought time to argue on their anticipatory bail pleas.
A similar request was also made by the ED’s Special Public Prosecutors Nitesh Rana and N K Matta which was permitted by the court.
However, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and A M Singhvi, appearing for the father-son-duo, opposed the adjournment sought by the agencies, saying a lot of time had been spent since filing of the applications.
The case relates to alleged irregularities in grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval in the Aircel-Maxis deal.
The CBI had earlier informed the court that the Centre has granted sanction to prosecute five people, including serving and former bureaucrats, accused in the Aircel-Maxis case, including the Chidambarams. There are 18 accused in the case.
Chidambaram and Karti were named in the charge sheet filed by the CBI in the case on July 19 last year. The agency is probing how Chidambaram, who was the Union finance minister in 2006, granted FIPB approval to a foreign firm, when only the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) was empowered to do it.
