PC arrested by CBI

First time a former Union Home Minister and FinMin has been held by CBI on graft charges

Chidambaram has been kept in suite No. 5 of the CBI Guest House on the ground floor of agency HQ

He will be produced before special CBI court today, where agency will seek his remand

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 21

In an unprecedented move, the CBI today arrested senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram from his residence here for custodial interrogation in the INX Media scam case. The arrest was preceded by high drama as a team of CBI officials scaled the wall of his bungalow to gain entrance while another team tried to make way through the backdoor.

This is for the first time that a former Union Home Minister and Finance Minister has been arrested by the CBI on charges of corruption. Minutes after reaching the CBI Headquarters, the sleuths took Chidambaram to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for a medical check-up. The CBI team had to wade through Congress supporters, who raised slogans outside his house. 

Chidambaram’s  arrest came soon after his dramatic appearance at the Congress headquarters where he addressed the media and denied charges levelled by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate against him and his son Karti. He went back to his residence  with a battery of lawyers and party colleagues, including Kapil Sibal.

Rejecting reports of his evading the law, Chidambaram said he was working with his lawyers, preparing papers for his bail application, filed before the Supreme Court earlier. “Respect for law can mean only one thing, wait for Supreme Court justice on Friday,” he said. 

Earlier in the day, the apex court refused to grant urgent hearing to his petition seeking pre-arrest bail. He has challenged the Delhi High Court’s Tuesday order rejecting his anticipatory bail plea.     

Chidambaram’s lawyers spent all day at the SC, trying to get his petition listed and twice went to Justice NV Ramana’s Bench only to be told that the case had been sent to the CJI  for assigning it to an appropriate Bench.

Chidambaram’s lawyers led by senior advocate Sibal waited for CJI Gogoi to wrap up the day’s hearing in the Ayodhya case to mention his appeal, but the Bench rose without hearing it. Later, the Registrar (Judicial) informed his lawyers that CJI Ranjan Gogoi had fixed the hearing for Friday.

The Delhi HC had on Tuesday dismissed his anticipatory bail plea, terming the INX Media scam a “classic case of money-laundering”. Noting that it was of the prima facie opinion that the former Finance Minister’s custodial interrogation was required for an effective probe into the case, the HC said granting bail in such cases would send out the wrong message. 

Party firmly with him

• The truth is inconvenient to cowards so he is being shamefully hunted down. We stand by him and will continue to fight for the truth no matter what the consequences are. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra 
• No matter how many false cases are hoisted on him by this government, he cannot be muzzled nor can he be intimidated. We proudly stand by him.  Jairam Ramesh