New Delhi | The Supreme Court of India declined an urgent hearing for Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on his plea seeking protection from arrest in the INX media scam cases.
It listed for a hearing by the Supreme Court two days later, on Friday. Chidambaram’s legal team led by Congress leader Kapil Sibal had made numerous attempts for an immediate hearing by the top court.
Sibal mentioned the petition twice before Justice NV Ramana earlier in the day but was told to approach Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on both occasions.
Also Read: Congress fumes over lookout notice against P Chidambaram; claim CBI is ‘spineless’
The CJI, however, was engaged in the Ayodhya hearings.
Kapil Sibal, who is also a fellow senior Congress leader, told the court that agencies have issued a lookout notice, “as if he was going to run away”.
The top court said the defects in the petition had been removed “just now” and it “cannot be listed for hearing today itself”.
“Without listing of the petition, we cannot hear the matter,” said the bench.
The CJI, after his matter ended at 4 PM, immediately left the premises.
At the end of the hearing, Sibal said that Chidambaram was ready to give an undertaking that he will not run away but the bench did not consider the submission and concluded the brief hearing.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday had rejected P Chidambaram’s anticipatory bail, citing that there was “too much evidence” to prove anything otherwise.
Chidambaram’s role had come under the scanner of various investigating agencies in the Rs 3,500-crore Aircel-Maxis deal and the INX Media case involving Rs 305 crore.
It was during his tenure as finance minister in the UPA-I government that clearances from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) were given to the two ventures.
Also Watch: ED issues lookout circular against P Chidambaram
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
