Karti Chidambaram moves Madras High Court against lookout notice issued by CBI
He claimed the circular was part of a meticulous plan hatched by the investigating agency.
Karti Chidambaram on Friday moved the Madras High Court seeking to cancel a lookout notice issued against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation, reported NDTV. The son of former Union minister P Chidamabaram, along with INX Media and its directors, is being investigated on money laundering charges by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate.
On July 18, a lookout notice was issued against Karti Chidambaram under Section 10B of the Passport Act to prevent him from leaving the country. After the Assistant Solicitor General had sought more time to get information on the circular, the High Court had posted the matter to August 7 for further hearing.
“I was always responding to the summons issued by the CBI and there was no absolute cause of action for issuance of the lookout circular,” Karti Chidambaram said, according to The Times of India. “The circular is a well thought out and meticulously orchestrated fraudulent plan of the CBI to stop me at the airport as and when I proceed abroad, by springing an unpleasant surprise on me and leak it to the media that I am detained at the airport and cause embarrassment to me.”
Chidambaram took to Twitter to share a picture of him sitting with Congress party workers, with the caption, “For all those looking out for me”. Chidambaram claimed it was just a way to stop him at the airport and spring an unpleasant surprise on him
Others named in the case are INX media directors Peter and Indrani Mukerjea, who were charged separately with murder in connection with Sheena Bora’s death. Bora was Indrani Mukerjea’s daughter. The case against them has been filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The Chidambarams have denied all charges and alleged this is part of a political ploy, after there were multiple raids conducted on their properties in four cities.
The officials had said they were investigating the charge that Karti Chidambaram’s company had received Rs 10 lakh from INX Media – which got a Foreign Exchange Promotion Board clearance for Rs 4 crores – but had actually received Rs 305 crores in foreign funding.