Madras High Court on Thursday granted an interim stay on the lookout notice issued against Karti Chidambaram by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the FEMA rules violation case.
The court has asked the Union Ministry to file a response in this case. The lawyer representing the Central government said that the central agencies issued notices so that Karti Chidambaram did not escape from the country. He also claimed that Karti did not appear before them when summons was issued to him.
However, Karti’s lawyer claimed that the matter is still sub-judice and he has been present for the court hearings. In such a scenario, it is illegal to file a Lookout Circular (LOC) against him.
The court has given an interim stay to Karti Chidambaram in the case and has posted the matter for hearing on September 4, 2017.
This comes after Karti Chidambaram had approached the Madras High Court to quash the lookout notice issued against him.
In the petition, Karti has stated that the Foreigner Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) cannot issue LOC on the advice of the investigation agencies, especially when the matter is sub-judice.
On May 16, the CBI had raided Chidambaram’s Chennai residence and 13 other places including Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai and Chandigarh.
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.
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 accused in the Sheena Bora murder case.
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 (FDI) in the FIPB meeting on May 18, 2007.
On Sunday, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that the Central Bureau of Direct Taxes (CBDT) was not taking action against Karti Chidambaram and former finance minister P Chidambaram. He also alleged that some officials in the Ministry of Finance and the CBDT are trying to derail the probe.