The Delhi High Court on Wednesday stayed proceedings against former Union Minister P. Chidambaram in a money laundering case related to the Aircel-Maxis case.
A bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri has ordered that the proceedings against Chidambaram be stayed till the next hearing. The court stayed the proceedings and informed the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The Senior Congress leader has moved the Supreme Court against the trial court’s order taking cognizance of the ED complaint against him and his son Karti Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis case. The Supreme Court today stayed the proceedings until the next hearing and listed the matter for January 22.
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Senior advocate N Hariharan, appearing on behalf of the Congress leader, said that without criminal proceedings, the court could not have taken cognizance of the charges.
The case against the Congress leader concerns irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approvals given to the Aircel-Maxis deal when Chidambaram was the Union finance minister.
Chidambaram’s counsel submitted that the special judge had taken cognizance of the charge sheet for the alleged offense of money laundering as there was no sanction for prosecuting the former Union minister, who was a civil servant when the crime was allegedly committed .
The ED had objected to the maintainability of the petition and argued that the sanction of prosecution was not necessary in this case as the allegations relate to Chidambaram’s actions which have nothing to do with his official duties.
In November 2021, the court had taken note of the charges filed by the CBI and the ED against Chidambaram and Karti in the Aircel-Maxis case and summoned them at a later date.
P. Chidambaram, along with his son Karti Chidambaram, is accused of receiving kickbacks in the ₹3,500 crore Aircel-Maxis deal through FIPB approval for the deal.
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