CBI's lookout notice against Karti Chidambaram will stay for now

NEW DELHI: The CBI’s lookout notice on Karti Chidamabaram will stay for now, with a top court bench, led by the CJI Dipak Misra, deciding to defer his plea against it till October 9.

Chidambaram, son of former finance minister P Chidambaram, is facing charges of allegedly receiving pay-offs for facilitating FIPB clearance for INX media while his father was in office. He denies the charges. At the fairly long court hearing on Wednesday, his lawyer Kapil Sibal accused the CBI of acting mala fide against him. “These are all lies, false. Said to prejudice the court,” he said of the CBI’s submission that he had many properties and bank accounts abroad and had gone about closing these accounts and transferring the money during his last two trips abroad.

Sibal said any such alleged evidence cannot be produced in the top court in a challenge to a lookout notice. “Let them go and file another case against me if I have violated FERA or any other Act,” he argued on behalf of Karti.

ASG Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, shrugged off the charge saying that the government had been “very fair” and “had not crossed the limits”. “We only exercised the lesser evil,” he said, referring to the lookout notice.

He said the lookout notice was needed to prevent Karti from leaving the country and avoiding trial in the case. It was also necessary to prevent Karti from tampering with evidence on his trips abroad. He submitted sealed reports of the Financial Intelligence Unit to back his claim that he had closed accounts and transferred money elsewhere.

Karti Chidambaram is yet to be chargesheeted in the case. “Do not allow him to travel abroad anymore,” Mehta said.

Sibal urged the court to vacate the stay on the high court order and allow him to travel. Eventually, however, the CJI wondered if the top court should step in into such a legal battle.