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INX Media Case: Supreme Court Asks Karti Chidambaram To Approach Delhi High Court For Relief

The apex court asks Karti Chidambaram to approach the Delhi High Court for seeking interim relief.

Karti Chidambaram being produced by CBI in the INX Media case, at Patiala House Court in New Delhi. (Source: PTI)
Karti Chidambaram being produced by CBI in the INX Media case, at Patiala House Court in New Delhi. (Source: PTI)

The Supreme Court has asked Karti Chidambaram, the son of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, to approach the Delhi High Court today for seeking any interim relief in the INX Media money laundering case.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra requested the acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court to allocate Karti’s matter to an appropriate bench so that it can be taken up for hearing tomorrow.

The bench, also comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, also allowed Karti to withdraw his plea pending with the apex court related to the money laundering case.

The top court had on March 6 refused to grant any interim protection to the son of the former Union Finance Minister.

Karti had approached the apex court seeking direction to declare that the Enforcement Directorate had no jurisdiction to conduct any investigation unrelated to the allegations in the FIR lodged by CBI on May 15, 2017.

He had also sought the quashing of summons and all the proceedings initiated by the ED, terming it “unreasonable, without jurisdiction, without authority of law, in colourable exercise of power and vitiated by malafides.”

Karti was arrested on Feb. 28 in Chennai immediately after he returned from abroad.

He had also sought direction to the ED to forbear him from investigation under the PMLA, the commission of a predicate offence or the existence of proceeds of crime in the M/s INX Media case and investigate the alleged offence of money laundering only if and after the proceeds of crime arising out of a predicate offence are identified by the CBI.

The apex court had on Feb. 23 refused to stay the summons issued by the ED against Karti Chidambaram who is presently in CBI custody in the INX Media case.

The ED had registered a case against him and others in May last year. It had registered an ECIR, against the accused named in a CBI complaint. These included Karti Chidambaram, INX Media and its directors, Peter and Indrani Mukerjea.