Madras HC Dismisses Karti Chidambaram’s Plea to Quash CBI’s FIR

Karti Chidambaram approached Madras High Court after Supreme Court asked him to appear before CBI on 23 August.

Karti Chidambaram’s petition to quash an FIR filed by the Central Investigation Bureau against him in the FEMA rules violation case was dismissed by the Madras High Court on Tuesday.

The court has asked him to approach Delhi High Court, as the case did not come under the Madras High Court's jurisdiction. The case was heard by Justice Velmurugan. The judge said that it would be in vain if different courts conducted inquiry in this case.

Karti Chidambaram approached the Madras High Court after the Supreme Court asked him to appear before CBI in New Delhi on 23 August.

Last week, the Supreme Court questioned Karti Chidambaram as to why he was not taking part in the probe against him.

Also Read: ED Registers Money Laundering Case Against Karti Chidambaram

On 10 August, Madras High Court had granted an interim stay on the lookout notice issued against Karti Chidambaram by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and CBI in the FEMA violation case.

The CBI had raided Chidambaram’s Chennai residence and 13 other places, including Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai and Chandigarh in May,

Karti is alleged to have received Rs 3.5 crore from Mumbai-based INX media, now 9X Media, for helping it in getting Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance when it was run by Peter and Indrani Mukherjea, both also accused in the Sheena Bora murder case.

Also Read: Misinformation on Karti “Deliberately Fed” to Media: Chidambaram

The CBI registered an FIR against Karti on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, accepting gratification by corrupt or illegal means, influencing public servants, and criminal misconduct.

The FIR does not mention the name of P Chidambaram, though it says he cleared the FIPB approval for Rs 4.62 crore Foreign Direct Investment in the FIPB meeting on 18 May 2007.

(This article was first published on The News Minute and has been republished with permission.)

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