Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday granted regular bail to Congress Leader Karti Chidambaram in a money laundering case related to the Chinese Visa case.
Special Judge Kaveri Baweja, while granting bail, directed him to provide a personal bond of one lakh and two sureties of the same amount.
The accused individuals were previously summoned by the court following the cognizance of the charge sheet.
Summons Issued
On March 19, the Rouse Avenue Court issued summonses to Karti Chidambaram and seven other accused in the case.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently filed a prosecution complaint naming Karti Chidambaram, S Bhaskararaman, and several others, including several firms, as the accused.
Filed Anticipatory Bail
In the matter, Karti Chidambaram had previously filed for anticipatory bail in the Delhi High Court, where ASG SV Raju represented the Enforcement Directorate and orally assured the court that no coercive action would be taken while the matter was pending in court.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal argued that there was no material against the accused. “No money laundering case is established, as there are no allegations that any money was given to Karti Chidambaram,” he stated.
“If there is no money, it cannot be laundered. Yet, they initiated the ECIR. The accused has participated in the investigation and is cooperating. The alleged transaction dates back to 2011, and they initiated the case in 2022,” Sibal argued in court.
“There is a fear of arrest as they initiated the ECIR within ten days of the FIR registration by the CBI. I am named in that ECIR, and they can arrest me at any time without prior notice or summons. In the CBI case, I have been given a 72-hour notice before arrest, so that I can approach the court,” he further argued.
Earlier, he had challenged that the alleged transaction value was Rs. 50 lakh, which is less than one crore. “Considering this fact, Karti Chidambaram should be granted bail,” Sibal asserted.
On the contrary, ASG SV Raju argued that the bail application was premature as there was insufficient material in the case.
“We will investigate the case. If there is no case against them, why are they afraid of arrest?” he questioned.
He contended that this application was premature since no summonses were issued and only an ECIR was registered. Therefore, the fear of arrest was not genuine.
The CBI judge at the Rouse Avenue Court had previously dismissed all three applications submitted by Karti Chidambaram, S. Bhaskararaman, and Vikas Makharia.
