The Supreme Court on Friday directed former Union minister P Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram to appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation on August 23 for questioning in a corruption case, reported PTI.

A bench comprising Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud said Karti Chidambaram’s lawyer can accompany him at the CBI headquarters, but will not be allowed in the room during the interrogation. The judges also gave the CBI the freedom to question him as many times as it wanted till August 28, the date of the next hearing.

On August 14, the Supreme Court had stayed the Madras High Court’s order suspending a lookout notice against Karti Chidambaram. The apex court’s order was based on a plea by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre that challenged the lower court’s direction to stay the lookout notice against the politician.

On July 18, the CBI had had issued a notice under Section 10B of the Passport Act to prevent Karti Chidambaram from leaving the country. Karti Chidambaram had moved the Madras High Court against the lookout notice on August 4, after which it had stayed the notice on August 10.

The money laundering case

Karti Chidambaram is under the CBI and Enforcement Directorate’s scanner for his alleged involvement in a money laundering case. 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 that the investigation was 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.