P Chidambaram: Suspense in Supreme Court continues as Justice Ramana sends file to CJI

The suspense over the impending arrest of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram continues, as Justice NV Ramana sends the file to CJI to hear the urgent mentioning of the Congress leader’s bail plea..The three-judge Bench headed by Justice NV Ramana asked Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Chidambaram, to approach Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi with the plea..Sibal informed the Court that the formalities related to the filing of the petition were complete and that the matter was ready to be listed. The Senior Counsel also brought to the Court’s notice the move of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to issue notice to Chidambaram on the intervening night of August 20 and 21 summoning him to be present within two hours..Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the investigation agencies, called the INX media case a case of money laundering of “monumental magnitude” while opposing the relief sought by Chidambaram..Justice Ramana then told Sibal to mention the matter before CJI Ranjan Gogoi, assuring him that the file would be sent to the CJI immediately for his consideration..Chidamabaram’s lawyers then made their way into the court of CJI. However, when the five-Judge Constitution Bench assembled to hear the Ayodhya dispute case, no mentioning was made as the Bench directly proceeded to hear the Ayodhya case..After reserving its order seven months earlier, the Delhi High Court yesterday refused to grant anticipatory bail to P Chidambaram in the INX Media case..Remarking that an offender must be exposed irrespective of his status, the Delhi High Court had observed that a prima facie case was made out against Chidambaram, and that it was not a fit case for grant of pre-arrest bail..Calling it a “classic case of money laundering”, the Court stated that the twin factors weighing against Chidambaram were the gravity of the offence and his evasive replies to questions put to him by the investigative agencies..Delhi HC denies anticipatory bail to P Chidambaram in INX Media case.The Court also dismissed arguments claiming that the Congress leader’s arrest was politically motivated..Justice Sunil Gaur further added that facts of the case prima facie reveal that Chidambaram was the “kingpin” and grant of bail in cases like cases the instant one would “send a wrong message to the society“..After anticipatory bail was denied by the High Court, Chidambaram had sought a stay on the operation of the order till he moved the Supreme Court..However, the request for stay was rejected by Justice Gaur at 4 pm yesterday, prompting Chidambaram to approach the Supreme Court seeking an urgent listing of his appeal..An urgent listing of the petition was sought at the Apex Court. However, Chidambaram was told to mention the matter before the senior-most judge present at the Supreme Court the next day..The order in Chidambaram’s plea seeking anticipatory bail was reserved by the Delhi High Court on January 25 this year. Delivering the verdict nearly seven months after reserving it, the High Court observed that a prima facie case was made out. The Court also rejected the argument that the case against Chidambaram was politically motivated..The INX Media case pertains to the alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance to INX Media at the time when P Chidambaram was the Finance Minister. It is the case of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram received illegal gratification from INX Media owners, Peter and Indrani Mukherjea for the clearance.