Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday moved the Delhi High Court against the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking bail in the INX Media money laundering case. He has stated that his arrest by the ED is mala fide and has been done with the intention to harm the reputation of the petitioner. Chidambaram, who was on Tuesday granted bail from Supreme Court in the INX media corruption case, continues to be in ED custody till Thursday.
He was arrested by the CBI on August 21 in the INX Media corruption case.
Setting aside the Delhi HC order, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said that the CBI has “no direct evidence” against the former finance minister showing he directly or indirectly influenced witnesses. “Mere averments” that he had approached witnesses and would further pressurise them, “without any material basis” cannot be the reason to deny him regular bail more so when he has been in custody for nearly two months, the apex court said.
A bench headed by Justice R Banumathi held that in the absence of any “contemporaneous materials”, no weight could be attached to the allegation that the senior Congress leader has been influencing witnesses by approaching them. The case was registered 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 finance minister.
