Special court grants ED, CBI time till Feb 1 to complete probe in Aircel Maxis case

A special court in Delhi on Wednesday granted the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation time till February 1 to complete the investigation into the Aircel Maxis case involving former Union Minister P Chidambaram, his son Karti Chidambaram and others. Special Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar of Rouse Avenue court adjourned the matter for February 1 after the Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, representing the agencies, sought time due to the pendency of Letters Rogatory (LRs) in several countries.

Arguments on cognizance of the chargesheet are pending before the court. Jain, who virtually appeared for the agencies, submitted that Singapore Authorities have raised certain queries on which ED is responding soon. He said since the investigation is still pending qua LRs issued to the different countries including the UK and Singapur, therefore, the matter may be adjourned for arguments on the point of cognizance.

Earlier, Jain had informed the court that agencies have sent LRs to different countries and there are some developments in that regard. The CBI had earlier submitted that it is working on a new lead. Both agencies have filed the status report in the court as well. Senior advocate Sonia Mathur also appeared for both the agencies, while advocate Naveen Kumar Matra represented ED and Advocate KK Goel represented CBI in the matter.

Earlier, the court had directed the agencies to file a status report in the Aircel Maxis case, which was adjourned sine die, and noted that the allegations mentioned in the chargesheet appeared to be "quite serious in nature." Chidambaram and his son Karti are currently out on bail in the present matter.

The case, which is being probed by the CBI and ED, relates to alleged irregularities in the grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval in the Aircel-Maxis deal. The FIPB approval was allegedly granted in 2006 when Chidambaram was the Union Finance Minister. (ANI)