New Delhi: Former Union Minister P Chidambaram will be arrested Wednesday by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after a special court in Delhi agreed to the agency’s request for the custodial interrogation of the 74-year-old former Union Finance Minister, who has been in Tihar jail since September 5 in the INX Media case.
The ED, which has accused him of money laundering in the same case, had moved two applications yesterday – to formally arrest P Chidambaram and seek his custody.
The court gave two options to ED. The first one was to interrogate the former Finance Minister at the court premises for 30 minutes and then move application for custody or to sending him to Tihar jail for now and arresting him from there.
Initially, ED was keen to arrest P Chidambaram as soon as possible. They even suggested that Chidambaram can be interrogated at the Rouse Avenue court premises and then arrested but Judge intervened and said ‘dignity of the person should be considered’. The ED agreed to the second option. Hence P Chidambaram will be arrested Wednesday morning from Tihar Jail and then he will be produced in court around 4.00pm when the agency applies for his custody.
Earlier in the day P Chidambaram sought bail from the Supreme Court in the INX Media corruption case stating that the CBI wants to keep him in custody to humiliate him.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Chidambaram, told the bench headed by Justice R Banumathi that there were no allegations about the former Finance Minister or his family members having ever tried to approach or influence any witness in the case.
The two senior lawyers told the apex court that there are no allegations of financial loss or siphoning of funds. They also questioned the findings of the Delhi High Court, which had rejected Chidambaram’s bail plea September 30, saying it should not have referred to the merits of the case while deciding a bail petition.
“Their game plan is to keep him in jail for 60 days… He wanted to surrender to ED while in CBI custody,” Kapil Sibal said.
The court will hear Wednesday the arguments of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI.
Chidambaram, who is lodged in Tihar Jail here under judicial custody till October 17 in the INX Media corruption case, was arrested by the CBI August 21.
So now even if the Supreme Court gives him bail Wednesday in the case filed by the CBI, then the ED will arrest him again.
Agencies