The Delhi High Court on Tuesday extended the interim protection from arrest granted to former Union Minister of Finance P Chidambaram in the INX Media case till August 1.

The extension was granted as the Central Bureau of Investigation sought more time from the court to file a response to Chidambaram’s anticipatory bail petition, ANI reported. In May, the Delhi High Court had sought the agency’s response to the bail petition by July 3. Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had opposed the bail application, saying Chidambaram had merely been called for questioning.

Chidambaram deposed before the CBI for nearly four hours on June 6. The High Court, while granting the former finance minister interim protection from arrest, had asked him to cooperate with the CBI after officials said he had failed to appear for questioning.

The case

In May 2017, the Enforcement Directorate filed a money laundering case against the former finance minister’s son Karti Chidambaram, INX Media and its directors Indrani Mukerjea and Peter Mukerjea. The agency accused Karti Chidambaram’s company of receiving a bribe of Rs 10 lakh to help INX Media escape punitive action for taking Rs 305 crore in foreign funding in 2007 despite having clearance from the Foreign Exchange Promotion Board for only Rs 4 crore. P Chidambaram was finance minister at the time.

Karti Chidambaram has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the case.