E-Paper
Chidambaram custody extended
The order was passed by special judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar, before whom Chidambaram was produced at the expiry of his extended custodial interrogation on Friday.
Former finance minister P Chidambaram, arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the INX Media case, will remain in the agency’s custody until Monday, September 2.
The order was passed by special judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar, before whom Chidambaram was produced at the expiry of his extended custodial interrogation on Friday. Chidambaram, 73, has been in CBI’s custody for eight days since his arrest on August 21.
Additional solicitor general (ASG) KM Nataraj, appearing for CBI, said the agency’s interrogation of the former Union minister was only partially complete and it wanted to confront him with more documents.
The judge asked him the reasons for seeking five more days of custody and demanded to see the case diary. Perusing through the case diary, the court observed that the grounds for extension of the custodial interrogation were “vague”.
When the ASG responded that the documents were volumi
nous, the judge said, “You were aware about the volume of documents, why did you ask for only five days’ custody for the first time. Second time also you asked for five days only. Why this approach?. You could have asked for 15 days on the very first day of his production.”
ASG Nataraj asked the court to see the questions that have been put to him. “Kindly see the number of questions and how many witnesses he has been confronted with. We have definitely made out a case for further extension,” said ASJ.
The agency informed the court that its offices had been questioning Chidambaram for 8-10 hours every day.
The INX Media case relates to alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance given to the media group for receiving foreign investment to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007, when Chidambaram was finance minister. The CBI registered a first information report on May 15, 2017, alleging irregularities in the manner the clearance had been awarded.
During Friday’s proceedings, Chidambaram’s counsel, senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, told the court that the defence team was not averse to him being in custody until September 2, when the Supreme Court will take up the matter.
Krishnan, however, cited “serious issues with the nature of investigation”. He also informed the court that his client had been questioned for 55 hours during which CBI asked 400 questions and that he answered all questions without a pause. He also said that none of the questions pertained to the alleged trail of money in the case.
Chidambaram has challenged his custodial interrogation in the CBI case before the Supreme Court. He told the sessions judge that his lawyers and the CBI had mutually agreed in the Supreme Court on the remand being extended until Monday when the matter will be taken up. “If they seek to extend remand by five days on merit, my instruction was to oppose it,” he said.
