Karti P. Chidambaram, son of former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Friday filed writ petitions in the Madras High Court seeking to quash the FIR filed against him on May 15 in connection with alleged misuse of foreign investment by INX Media and the subsequent notices asking him to appear before the CBI in New Delhi.
The CBI has alleged that in 2007, while INX Media had got an approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for investments worth ₹4.62 crore, it received ₹305 crore in foreign direct investments from two Mauritius-based companies by sale of shares at a premium of ₹800 a unit.
The CBI has accused Mr. Karti Chidambaram of having received commissions via a company associated with him to scuttle a possible probe by the Department of Revenue into the allegations against INX Media, then owned by Peter and Indrani Mukerjea.
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In his petitions, Mr. Karti Chidambaram said the reference to “un-named” or “unknown” public officials clearly establishes the mala fide intention of the FIR. It is obvious that the so-called source of information could not name any public official connected with the FIPB unit or the Ministry of Finance. Hence, it is a logical conclusion that no offence under any law has been made out even prima facie.