Enforcement Directorate (ED) had registered a money laundering case against former Finance Minister P Chidambaram‘s son Karti Chidambaram, INX Media, its directors, Peter and Indrani Mukerjea, and others. CBI raids and searches were also carried out at the premises and offices of Karti across four cities for allegedly receiving money from the media firm owned by the Mukerjeas to settle tax probe amicably.
Karti summoned a petition to the High Court for putting down a “look out circular” issued against him under the Passport Act over a corruption case filed by the CBI. In the petition, it read that he had cooperated with the CBI, had answered all the related questions and there was no absolute cause of action for the issuance of the LOC. He alleged that the circular was a well thought out plan of the CBI to deliberately insult him in front of the media. He added that the CBI surprisingly stopped him when he was boarding at the airport and leaked it to the media that he was detained.
When the matter came up for hearing before Justice D Duraiswamy, he adjourned it to August 7 after Additional Solicitor General G Rajagopalan sought time to get instructions on whether such a circular had been issued.
Karti was summoned to appear before the court twice since June for questioning in connection with alleged irregularities. Karti had sought time to appear before the CBI.
In his petition to the court, he also added that the LOC, which was used to monitor the arrival departure of foreigners and Indians or to restrict their movement, it had been issued to restrain him from going abroad. He claimed that the LOC was issued against him when he was already abroad for personal work and his counsel has informed the CBI about it through a letter written on 20 June.
Karti expressed his distress that LOC was issued against those who were not corporating with the CBI but in spite of him giving full support and responding to all the summons issuing LOC against him was not correct.