A Delhi court on Thursday extended for five days the police remand of Karti Chidambaram, son of former Union Minister P. Chidambaram, in the cheating-cum-corruption case connected with INX Media.
Special judge Sunil Rana said he was extending the remand “in view of the submission (by CBI counsel)... and the fact that the matter is at initial stage of investigation, which is a very crucial stage and further, as per the case diary and day-to-day report of the investigation, the claim of CBI is based on the ground that there is prima facie material showing the involvement of the accused and it requires further investigation.’’
Another court had on Wednesday remanded the accused to one-day police custody with the direction that he shall be produced before the concerned on Thursday.
Seeking police remand for 14 days more, Additional Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, submitted that the accused had to be confronted with the documents and the co-accused.
‘No cooperation’
He also submitted that the accused had refused to co-operate and refused to answer questions put to him during the one-day police remand. The judge said, “I am of the view that the police remand of accused Karti Chidambaram is necessary to confront the accused with documents, co-accused and to unearth the larger conspiracy and role of others. accused persons involved in the case’’
``Accordingly, accused Karti Chidambaram is remanded to five days’ police custody remand. Let the accused be at liberty to seek assistance of his counsel during police remand custody,’’ the order said.
Further arguing, Mr. Mehta alleged that the accused in connivance with his father had got FIPB’s approval for foreign direct investments for several companies for a consideration.
Mr. Mehta also informed the court that each member of the FIPB were summoned and their statements were recorded in connection with the case.
On Wednesday, the counsel for the accused, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, had submitted that no member of the FIPB had ever been summoned in the case.
Mr. Singhvi challenged the authenticity of the the confessional statement of Indrani Mukherjea, a co-accused in the case, stating that her statement might have been recorded under duress as she is being prosecuted by the CBI in a murder case, which Mr. Mehta rebutted, stating that the woman accused never remained in their custody.
Mr. Singhvi further said that then Union Minister, P. Chidambaram, had in fact helped investigation into alleged irregularities in foreign direct investment in the INX Media by forwarding the complaint in the matter by a journalist to the Corporate Ministry for probe.
P. Chidambaram and his wife Nalini Chidambaram were present in the court during the arguments. Later, they met Karti Chidambaram for a few minutes with the permission of the court.
The CBI FIR lodged in May last year alleges that the INX Media had entered into a criminal conspiracy with Karti Chidambaram in pursuant to which irregularities were committed by the accused company by receiving FDI more than the amount approved by the FIPB.
