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Former finance minister P Chidambaram’s CBI custody extended till today
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the trial court to consider former finance minister P Chidambaram’s request for interim bail in the INX Media corruption case after the former minister said that he should not be sent to Tihar jail under judicial custody and instead offered to be under house arrest.
Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s CBI custody has been extended till Tuesday. A CBI court has agreed to hear Chidambaram’s interim bail plea tomorrow after 3:30 pm on the CBI’s request. Chidambaram’s CBI custody has been extended till then.
“We are requesting P Chidambaram’s one-day custody, till tomorrow, when the Supreme Court will hear the matter. If released on bail, P Chidambaram may influence the witnesses,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said in court. Appearing for Chidambaram, veteran Congress leader and top lawyer Kapil Sibal moved to secure interim bail.
Central agencies CBI and the Enforcement Directorate told the court that Chidambaram needed to be dealt with an ‘iron hand’ since another parallel investigation-- the Aircel-Maxis probe is still going on.
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The Supreme Court on Monday asked the trial court to consider former finance minister P Chidambaram’s request for interim bail in the INX Media corruption case after the former minister said that he should not be sent to Tihar jail under judicial custody and instead offered to be under house arrest.
The top court said if Chidambaram’s request for interim bail is not considered by the trial court on Monday, his CBI custody would be extended by three more days.
The former finance minister’s CBI custody in the INX Media corruption case expired on Monday and he was produced before the concerned trial court during the day.
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A bench of justices R Banumathi and A S Bopanna also directed CBI to file its response on Chidambaram’s plea challenging the non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued against him and the subsequent orders of the trial court remanding him to CBI custody in the case.
Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, who is representing the 73-year-old politician, told a bench led by Justice R Banumathi that his petition against the CBI remand would become infructuous if the Delhi Court sends him to Tihar jail at the end of his CBI custody.
The CBI had earlier asked for Chidambaram’s custody for five days, till Wednesday.
