Delhi HC advances hearing on P. Chidambaram's plea in INX media case

New Delhi [India], April 3 (ANI): The Delhi High Court has agreed to advance the hearing date for Congress senior leader and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram's plea. The plea challenges the trial court's decision to take cognizance of the Enforcement Directorate's chargesheet in the INX Media money laundering case. Initially scheduled for August, the hearing will now take place on May 13 of this year.
Senior Advocate N. Hariharan, representing Chidambaram, requested the court to advance the hearing, highlighting the trial court's scheduled commencement of arguments on charges on April 7. He further urged the High Court to direct the trial court to keep the matter in abeyance until the plea was resolved, emphasizing that proceeding with arguments and framing charges would render the petition infructuous.
Justice Ravinder Dudeja, while advancing the hearing date, instructed both parties to refrain from pressing arguments on charges before the trial court. The court stated: "Considering the urgency, the matter is advanced to May 13. Meanwhile, both parties have jointly agreed not to press for arguments on charges before the trial court."
In December, the Delhi High Court issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate on P. Chidambaram's plea.
During the arguments earlier, ED Counsel Zoheb Hossain stated that the allegations against P. Chidambaram in the ED case do not relate to the discharge of his official duties. He argued that advocating for the protection of his son's business interests cannot be considered part of his official responsibilities.
Chidambaram, through a plea, stated that the trial court's order taking cognizance of the money laundering offence was issued without the Enforcement Directorate obtaining the necessary sanction under Section 197(1) of the CrPC for prosecuting him, despite him being a public servant at the time of the alleged offence. He emphasized that such a sanction is a mandatory requirement under Section 197(1) CrPC, read with Section 65 of the PMLA.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court had stayed the trial court proceedings in the Aircel Maxis Case against P Chidambaram on the same ground. The Delhi High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to respond to a petition filed by former Union Minister P. Chidambaram, seeking a deferment of arguments on the charges in the INX Media case.
Chidambaram contends that if the CBI's assertion that the investigation is "complete" is accepted (without admitting or prejudicing the matter), the accused would be entitled to inspect the documents that were previously withheld but not relied upon. However, the CBI has opposed this request.
Chidambaram has approached the Delhi High Court challenging the trial court's order dated October 26, 2024, which dismissed his plea seeking clarification from the CBI regarding the inspection of unrelied-upon documents, as per the March 5, 2021, order in the INXMedia case.
The plea notes that, according to the CBI's status report dated January 12, 2024, further investigation into "other aspects" is complete. The CBI, in its submission, states that it cannot confirm whether information obtained through execution reports related to Letters Rogatory (LRs) from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Singapore can be included as relied-upon or un-relied-upon documents in the chargesheet. This decision, the CBI maintains, can only be made after correlating these reports with those LRs that are still pending receipt.
In 2022, the Delhi High Court had dismissed the CBI's petition challenging the trial court's order allowing accused persons, including Chidambaram, and their counsels to inspect documents held in the Malkhana room in the INX Mediacorruption case.
The CBI had registered the case on May 15, 2017, alleging irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to INX Media Group for receiving Rs 305 crore in overseas funds in 2007, during Chidambaram's tenure as Union Finance Minister. Subsequently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a money laundering case, registering a PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) case based on the CBI's FIR, alleging irregularities in the FIPB clearance for INX Media. (ANI)