Karti Chidambaram sent to 5-day CBI custody, says he will be 'vindicated' soon

The Patiala House Court on Thursday sent Karti Chidambaram, the son of former finance minister P Chidambaram, to five-day CBI custody. The court said Karti Chidambaram's lawyer can meet him for one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening. Medicines are allowed only on prescription but home food is not allowed, said the CBI judge.

Earlier, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had sought 14 days of custodial interrogation for Karti as his one-day judicial custody expired on Thursday. Chidambaram was produced before special CBI judge Sunil Rana in the Patiala House Court.

The CBI arrested Karti in connection with INX Media money laundering case on Wednesday morning. The agency later produced him before the duty magistrate Sumeet Anand where it sought 15-day remand for the custodial interrogation. However, the duty magistrate granted only one day's custody.

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7.31pm: Karti Chidambaram has said he will be "vindicated" in the INX media case eventually.

I will be vindicated eventually: #KartiChidambaram #INXMediaCase (file pic) pic.twitter.com/BoqpyJzq9L

- ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2018

6.59pm: The court has allowed Karti Chidambaram's lawyer to meet him for one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening. Medicines are allowed only on prescription but home food is not allowed.

Delhi: P Chidamabaram leaves from Patiala House court after hearing against his son #KartiChidambaram in #INXMediaCase ; Karti has been sent to CBI custody till 6th March pic.twitter.com/g8Wxrkh3si

- ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2018

6:48 pm: Karti Chidambaram sent to 5-day CBI custody. The CBI to conduct medical examination on him.

Delhi's Patiala House Court sends #KartiChidambaram to CBI custody till 6th March in #INXMediaCase (file pic) pic.twitter.com/ApQWmsMXcK

- ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2018

6.33pm: The court allowed Karti Chidambaram to meet his parents, father P Chidambaram and mother Nalini Chidambaram, inside the courtroom. 

6.24pm: The court has reserved its order on Karti Chidambaram's bail plea, reports Firstpost.

6.08pm: The Delhi Patiala House Court judge to pronounce the order on Karti Chidambaram shortly.

15:50 pm: There is no ground for custodial interrogation. How can CBI claim non-cooperation when they haven't issued summons? All documents are in their possession: Karti Chidambaram's counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi in Patiala House Court.

15:45 pm: There is clear evidence of links between Karti Chidambaram and various companies. We have emails and invoices indicating money was given to Advantage Strategic Consultancy Private Limited in the time period when INX Media received favours: CBI told special CBI Judge.

15:40 pm: Patiala House Court reserves order on bail plea of Karti Chidambaram's chartered accountant, he will stay in jail till 7th March: Report

15:30 pm: Karti's mother Nalini Chidambaram, who is also a senior advocate, was seen sitting with him in the court. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi is leading the team of advocates for Karti.

14: 35 pm: The Enforcement Directorate is also present in the Court. The agency wants joint interrogation of Karti Chidambaram and his Chartered Accountant S Bhaskararaman: Report 

14:10 pm: Karti Chidambaram has arrived at the Patiala House Court to appear before the Special CBI Judge in INX Media money laundering case.

#KartiChidambaram brought to Delhi's Patiala House Court for hearing in #INXMediaCase pic.twitter.com/kLDiA0Hy68

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- ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2018

Here's what happened yesterday

• Karti Chidambaram was arrested in the morning at Chennai airport after he landed from London. Later, he was produced before Metropolitan Magistrate Sumeet Anand at around 4.50 pm when the CBI sought his custody to quiz him for unearthing the conspiracy in the case claiming he was not cooperating in the probe.
• During the hearing, CBI's prosecutor V K Sharma told the court that Karti has not cooperated in the investigation and has been repeatedly travelling abroad which confirmed apprehensions that "he will flee" from the country. He alleged that one of the grounds for arresting Karti was that the CBI had recorded statement of Indrani Mukerjea, former Director of INX Media (P) Ltd, before a magistrate on February 17 in which she had said that Karti had "accepted one million dollars from INX Media" at the Hyatt Hotel.
• Opposing the CBI's contentions, Karti Chidambaram's counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that it was a bizzare case and no grounds for arrest were made out. "It is a bizzare case at the threshold. It is not a case of arrest, leave aside police custody or judicial custody," Singhvi told the court while opposing the CBI's remand plea. He also argued that Karti was summoned twice by the CBI on August 23 and 28 last year and he was interrogated for 22 hours by the agency. Singhvi said, "there are no reasons given for the arrest. It is because you (CBI) want to show it to your bosses that you are doing some work."
• The CBI, in its remand plea, alleged that Karti had not cooperated in the investigation by joining the same 'until compelled to do so by the Supreme Court' and he 'vehemently denied that he or his company had any interaction with INX Media on any matter including FIPB related matter despite evidence to the contrary'.
• "Thus, Karti Chidambaram needs to be subjected to sustained interrogation for unearthing the total conspiracy hatched in the case and also to find out the details of overseas payments received by him from INX Media as a quid pro quo for influence exercised by him over the public servants to scuttle the punitive action required to be taken against M/s INX Media (P) Ltd for the illegal acts of receiving excess investment than the approved FDI and also for making of downstream investment without the FIPB approval. For this purpose, his police custody remand for a period of 15 days is considered essential," CBI's remand plea said.

(With inputs from PTI)