INX Media case: Court exempts Karti and P Chidambaram from appearing in court due to elections
Meanwhile, INX Media owner Peter Mukerjea, also an accused in the money laundering case, moved a bail application before the court.
A court in Delhi on Wednesday exempted Congress leader P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram from appearing before it in person in connection with the INX Media money laundering case, Bar and Bench reported.
The two Congress leaders had sought the exemption on grounds that they were star campaigners in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, which took place on Tuesday.
Special Judge MK Nagpal first asked the two MPs to appear before the court through video-conferencing, but eventually accepted their request for exemption, The Indian Express reported.
Meanwhile, INX Media owner Peter Mukerjea, also an accused in the case, moved a bail application before the court. The hearing will take place on April 16, according to Bar and Bench.
Last month, the court had directed P Chidambaram and Karti Chidambaram to appear before it on April 7. It had also issued summons to Mukerjea and the other accused in the case.
The court took note of the chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate and said there was sufficient material for further proceedings against the accused.
Also read: Explainer: What is the INX Media case and how is Karti Chidambaram involved?
Both the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation are conducting an inquiry in the money laundering case.
The CBI had alleged that there were certain irregularities in the foreign direct investment clearance granted to INX Media by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board in 2007, when P Chidambaram was the Union finance minister.
The agency had also produced purported emails between INX Media and a company belonging to Karti Chidambaram, which it claimed would prove the offences committed by the accused.
In 2017, the Enforcement Directorate filed a money laundering case against Chidambaram, his son and Mukerjea.
P Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI on August 21, 2019, and taken to Tihar jail on September 5. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court in October. In June 2020, the Supreme Court dismissed the CBI’s review petition against Chidambaram’s bail.