Delhi Court Grants Permission To Karti Chidambaram, Accused In Scam Case, For Travelling To France, UK

Congressman Karti Chidambaram, who is charged in connection with the alleged Aircel-Maxis and INX Media scandals, has been granted permission by a Delhi court to visit France and the UK from September 15 to September 27.

Mr. Chidambaram received the respite from Special Judge MK Nagpal in four cases involving the alleged scams. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are looking into the instances.
The judge stated in an order issued on August 25 that any ongoing additional inquiries into the issues will not be hampered by the court’s directives.

In his argument, Mr. Chidambaram stated that he had been invited to “a renowned international tennis tournament called St. Tropez Open to be held in St. Tropez, France, from September 18 to 24 and he has to travel to London, UK, to meet his daughter, who is working and residing there” as well.

As his company Totus Tennis Limited, which is a co-organizer of ATP tournaments, was formed in the UK, the Congress leader said that he was also forced to attend some meetings and commercial operations in London.

The applications made by Mr Chidambaram were challenged by the solicitors sitting on behalf of the ED and the CBI.

The applicant’s actual presence during the tournament in France and the length of his anticipated stay there, as well as the necessity or urgency of the applicant’s visit to his daughter in the UK, are not justified by the documents that were contained with the applications, the counsel claimed.

The attorney asserted that Mr. Chidambaram had been uncooperative in the ongoing investigation into the money laundering case, and he had “destroyed the proceeds of crime” by selling some shares of a company that was beneficially owned or under his control, according to some new evidence that has come to light.

The accused was ordered by the court to provide a security deposit of Rs. 1 crore via bank draught or FDR and to formalise and record his travel plans for that time period before leaving the country. Additionally, it requested information on the hotels or locations where he would stay as well as his international contact information.