Delhi; 22 Oct 2019 (UMM): Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram was granted bail on Tuesday by the Supreme Court in INX Media corruption case lodged by the CBI, around two months after he was arrested.
Court dismissed the CBI's plea which said that Chidambaram was not a flight risk and cannot tamper with the evidence. The bench also said the high court, which refused the bail plea earlier, should not have gone into the merits of the case while deciding Chidambaram's petition.
Chidambaram will make himself available for interrogation as and when called by the probe agency, the SC said.
Chidambaram will, however, continue to remain in jail as he is presently in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
According to India Today, Chidambaram was arrested in connection with the graft case on August 21 by the CBI, which has recently chargesheeted him and others, including his son Karti and some bureaucrats, for causing loss to the exchequer by allegedly committing offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code.
The CBI had registered an FIR on May 15, 2017 alleging irregularities in a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to INX Media group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007, during Chidambaram's tenure as the finance minister. Thereafter, the ED lodged a money laundering case in this regard in 2017, reported India Today.
