New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Monday directed that former Union Minister P Chidambaram could be kept in CBI custody until September 5 after he sought protection and told the apex court that he, being 74, should not be sent to Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
He should be placed under house arrest, said senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, representing Mr Chidambaram, who has already spent 11 days in CBI custody since his arrest on August 21 in the IN X Media case. The Supreme Court said he should be kept in CBI custody until September 5 unless he secures a bail from the trial court. The next date of hearing in the case at the Supreme Court is September 5.
Chidambaram has been put up in a “suite” at a guest-house of the CBI headquarters in Delhi. The apex court said the arrested Congress leader should apply for regular bail before the competent court.
The senior Congress leader, in his capacity as the then Union Finance Minister, has been accused of facilitating a huge infusion of foreign funds into INX Media in 2007. This he did allegedly at the instance of his son Karti Chidambaram, who received kickbacks for his role. Karti, a co-accused in the case, is out on bail.
P Chidambaram was arrested amid high drama from his home last week by CBI officials who scaled the walls of his house to get in. Since then, he has been in the agency’s custody.
The CBI had said that Chidambaram was being “evasive and non-cooperative” and his custody must be extended so that he can be confronted with documents and the other accused in the case.
