Former Union finance minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday moved a bail petition in the INX Media money laundering case asserting that all the other accused in the matter have been granted bail.
The ED which is probing the money laundering charges against the leader had arrested him on October 16, following which he was sent remanded to its custody by a special court till October 24.
“All other accused have been enlarged on bail. The petitioner has deep roots in the society and has been in the public life for 40 years,” the bail plea stated, adding that the arrest was malafide and done with an intention to harm his reputation.
Chidambaram submitted that he does not have the propensity to evade the law. “The petitioner has throughout been available during the period of the investigation. Investigation agency did not recover or elicit any incriminating from the possession of Chidambaram during the searches,” it stated.
The petition will be taken up for hearing by the court tomorrow. The Supreme Court had yesterday granted him bail in the corruption matter being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the case.
Chidambaram was arrested on August 21 by the CBI in connection with the graft case after which the court initially remanded him to its custody and later sent to Tihar jail.
The agency has recently charge-sheeted him and others, including his son Karti and a handful of bureaucrats, for causing loss to the exchequer by allegedly committing offenses under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The CBI had registered an FIR on May 15, 2017, alleging irregularities in a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to the 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.
By Sushil Batra
