In what comes as a relief to former finance minister P Chidambaram, the Supreme Court has granted him bail in the INX Media corruption case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The SC allowed bail with a bond of Rs 1 lakh, and directed immediate release of the former FM.

The Delhi High Court had refused to grant a bail to Chidambaram on September 30 and had held that given his position of power, he could influence witnesses. The SC has overturned the Delhi HC judgment.

The SC has also directed Chidambaram to cooperate with the investigative agencies. The judgment has also restricted overseas travel, directing Chidambaram to seek a nod from the trial court to travel overseas.

However, this SC order is unlikely to affect the status quo for Chidambaram, who is currently in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The ED is running a parallel investigation for alleged PMLA violations in the INX Media case. It had arrested Chidambaram on October 16.

The SC, acting on a request by the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, has clarified that the grant of bail in the CBI case will not have a bearing on any pending case or investigation.

The CBI had arrested Chidambaram for alleged irregularities in the INX Media case on August 21. The former FM was behind bars, in the CBI case, for 55 days. With the ED arrest on October 16, Chidambaram has spent a total of 61 days behind bars.

The CBI filed its charge sheet in the INX Media case on October 18, naming Chidambaram, his son Karti Chidambaram and several senior bureaucrats as accused. The CBI charge sheet alleged flow of Rs 9.96 lakhs of kickbacks to the Chidambarams. The special CBI court took cognisance of the charge sheet on October 21 and has directed Chidambaram to be produced before it on October 24.

First Published:Oct 22, 2019 11:26 AM IST