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Business News/ Politics / News/  Chidambaram to remain in CBI custody till Monday
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Chidambaram to remain in CBI custody till Monday

CBI special court on Friday extended the police custody of Chidambaram till 2 September
  • Order by special judge after expiry of four-day custodial interrogation granted on 26 August
  • P Chidambaram (Mint file)Premium
    P Chidambaram (Mint file)

    NEW DELHI : A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court on Friday extended the police custody of former finance minister P. Chidambaram till 2 September in the INX Media case.

    On Monday, the Supreme Court (SC) will also hear the plea by Chidambaram challenging the remand order by the CBI court.

    The order was passed by special judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar before whom Chidambaram was produced on expiry of his four-day custodial interrogation granted on 26 August.

    “Investigation being the prerogative of the investigating officer and given the fact that the record is voluminous and accused needs to be confronted. Thus, more time is required. In view of the submissions made, the accused is sent to police custody remand till 2 September," said the judge.

    Additional solicitor general (ASG) K.M. Natraj had, however, sought a five-day CBI remand but Chidambaram’s counsel Dayan Krishnan opposed it.

    The court also observed that the reasons mentioned by CBI, demanding a five-day extension of the Congress leader’s custody, were vague. The bench added that CBI should have initially sought a remand for 15 days if they knew that the interrogation would take time. To this, the ASG responded that it was difficult to ascertain the time needed for further interrogation, and Chidambaram needs to be confronted with some documentary evidence.

    “On the merits of the case, we need further custody," submitted Natraj.

    Krishnan said there was no objection from his client’s end for extension of remand till Monday so that the special leave petition could be taken up by the top court.

    The SC on Thursday extended till 5 September the interim protection granted to Chidambaram against arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the same case. A two-member bench headed by Justice R. Banumathi had also reserved the pronouncement of the order to until 5 September. The order shall answer two pleas—first, whether anticipatory bail should be granted to Chidambaram and, second, whether the court can rely on the material collected by the probe agency to grant arrest.

    The apex court will also hear the remand petition and the extension of the remand petition against CBI on Monday.

    Chidambaram has already been in police custody for eight days since his arrest on 21 August, after the Delhi high court dismissed his anticipatory bail application a day earlier.

    On 15 May 2017, CBI had registered a first information report against Chidambaram for alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance provided to INX Media for receiving overseas funds of 305 crore in 2007 when he was the finance minister. The money laundering cases lodged by the ED in this regard dates back to 2018.

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    Published: 30 Aug 2019, 06:11 PM IST
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