The Delhi High Court on Friday gave Congress leader P Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram interim protection from being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the INX Media money laundering case.
The interim relief to Karti Chidambaram from “any coercive action taken against him” by the ED till 20 March came a day after the Supreme Court transferred to the Delhi High Court his plea seeking quashing of summons issued by probe agency.
Karti Chidambaram is in CBI custody since 28 February. The CBI, which is separately probing the case, has alleged that Karti Chidambaram got kickbacks in 2007, when his father P Chidambaram was the Finance Minister, to clear foreign investment worth Rs 305 crore for INX Media — owned by Peter and Indrani Mukherjea.
Justice S Ravindra Bhat, who heard the matter in a packed courtroom from 10.30 AM to 1.15 PM, also made it clear that if the special court grants Karti Chidambaram bail in the corruption case the CBI has registered against him, the ED will not arrest him till the next hearing before the high court.