The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday invoked the Vijay Mallya case. They opposed Congress MP Karti Chidambaram’s plea. He seeks relaxation of bail conditions that restrict his foreign travel. The agency urged the Delhi High Court to continue requiring prior court permission for each of Chidambaram’s overseas trips.
Justice Ravinder Dudeja heard the matter. He was considering a request to advance the hearing date of Chidambaram’s application. Appearing for Chidambaram, Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra argued that his client is a sitting Member of Parliament. He posed no flight risk. He had consistently complied with the bail conditions.
“He is an MP, he is not going to be an MP of the UK. Even today, he is attending Parliament,” Luthra submitted.
Special Counsel for the CBI, Anup S Sharma, however, raised concerns over allowing unregulated international travel. Without explicitly naming fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, Sharma drew a parallel to the former Kingfisher Airlines chairman.
“There was one more MP, from Kingfisher. He is today in the UK,” Sharma said. This implies that prior status as a parliamentarian is no assurance against evasion of Indian law.
Justice Dudeja, however, questioned the logic of generalising from a single incident.
“If one person has run away, do you think everybody will run away?” the judge asked.
Despite the exchange, the Court agreed to advance the hearing on Chidambaram’s plea to September 10. The earlier date of October 16 was cancelled.
The bail conditions in question arise from the INX Media case. The CBI alleges that Karti Chidambaram was involved in irregularities. These irregularities relate to a ₹305 crore foreign investment approval granted in 2007. This occurred during the tenure of his father, P Chidambaram, as Union Finance Minister. The CBI registered the case in May 2017.
Karti Chidambaram was granted bail in March 2018. The bail came with restrictions. One key restriction was the requirement to obtain prior court permission for international travel. In his current application, he contends that he is a regular traveller. He asserts he has always complied with court orders. He has done this while visiting countries like the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, and the United States. He has requested that the requirement be relaxed for travel to these frequently visited destinations.
The matter will now be heard in September.
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