A court in Delhi on Monday reserved its order on the Enforcement Directorate’s plea seeking permission to arrest Congress leader P Chidambaram in the INX Media case, ANI reported. Chidambaram is in Tihar Jail since last month in connection with the inquiry of the Central Bureau of Investigation in the case. He was taken back to the jail after the hearing.

Chidambaram’s lawyer Kapil Sibal pointed out that the CBI already had the Congress leader’s remand. The Enforcement Directorate has no ground to ask for Chidambaram’s arrest since their case is also connected to the same alleged offence, Sibal added.

“CBI already sought his custody for investigating payment and companies abroad, which ED wants to probe now,” Sibal told the court.

On October 11, the court had issued a production warrant against the former finance minister. Special judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar directed that Chidambaram be produced before the Enforcement Directorate at 3 pm on October 14.

The case

The Enforcement Directorate filed a money laundering case in May 2017 against P Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram, INX Media, and its former owners Indrani and Peter Mukerjea. The Mukerjeas reportedly told the investigating agencies that Chidambaram had asked them to meet his son and help him with his business.

The CBI has alleged that there were irregularities in the foreign direct investment clearance granted to INX Media by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board in 2007. Chidambaram was the finance minister at the time. The agency has submitted purported emails between INX Media and a company belonging to Karti Chidambaram, claiming that these emails will “prove offences committed”. Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI on August 21.

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