Days after a Delhi court granted former finance minister P Chidambaram protection from arrest in connection with the Aircel-Maxis money laundering case, the Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday sought a four weeks time to file a reply on the anticipatory bail
Days after a Delhi court granted former finance minister P Chidambaram protection from arrest in connection with the Aircel-Maxis money laundering case, the Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday sought a four weeks time to file a reply on the anticipatory bail. The new development gives an interim relief to Chidambaram till July 10. Meanwhile, the former finance minister appeared before the ED to record his statement in the case.
The court had initially said no coercive action could be taken against Chidambaram until the next hearing, on June 5, but directed the senior Congress leader to join the investigation when summoned by the ED. Sources had informed The Indian Express that the agency had issued fresh summons to him to appear before the investigating officer in connection with the case. The directorate had first asked him to appear before it on May 30, and on the same day, Chidambaram had approached the court.
The Aircel-Maxis case pertains to grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance to firm M/S Global Communication Holding Services Ltd in 2006 for investment in Aircel. The ED has already questioned his son Karti in the case. The ED had said that the FIPB approval in the Aircel-Maxis FDI case was granted in March 2006 by Chidambaram even though he was competent to accord approval on project proposals only up to Rs 600 crore and beyond that it required the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
Both CBI and ED had increased the pace of investigation after directions from the Supreme Court to finish their probe into the 2G spectrum allocation cases, including the Aircel Maxis alleged money laundering case, in six months.
Chidambaram had earlier described the ED action in the case as a “crazy mixture of falsehoods and conjectures” and said that the chargesheet filed by probe agencies had been rejected by the court. However, the agencies have maintained that the FIR in the case has not been quashed.
The court had initially said no coercive action could be taken against Chidambaram until the next hearing, on June 5, but directed the senior Congress leader to join the investigation when summoned by the ED. Sources had informed The Indian Express that the agency had issued fresh summons to him to appear before the investigating officer in connection with the case. The directorate had first asked him to appear before it on May 30, and on the same day, Chidambaram had approached the court.
The Aircel-Maxis case pertains to grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance to firm M/S Global Communication Holding Services Ltd in 2006 for investment in Aircel. The ED has already questioned his son Karti in the case. The ED had said that the FIPB approval in the Aircel-Maxis FDI case was granted in March 2006 by Chidambaram even though he was competent to accord approval on project proposals only up to Rs 600 crore and beyond that it required the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
Both CBI and ED had increased the pace of investigation after directions from the Supreme Court to finish their probe into the 2G spectrum allocation cases, including the Aircel Maxis alleged money laundering case, in six months.
Chidambaram had earlier described the ED action in the case as a “crazy mixture of falsehoods and conjectures” and said that the chargesheet filed by probe agencies had been rejected by the court. However, the agencies have maintained that the FIR in the case has not been quashed.