Aircel-Maxis case: Interim protection from arrest of Chidambaram, Karti extended till Mar 8

A Delhi court on Monday extended till March 8 the interim protection from arrest granted to former finance minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram in connection with the Aircel-Maxis case.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) counsel informed the Patiala House Court that Karti has been asked to appear before it for questioning on March 5, 6, 7 and 12 for his alleged role in the Aircel-Maxis and INX Media cases.

The ED also pleaded that the matter be posted for hearing after March 12. However, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and A M Singhvi, appearing on behalf of the father-son duo, opposed the agency's request.

The Aircel-Maxis case emerged out of the 2G spectrum cases, pertaining to an approval granted to a Mauritius-based firm, M/S Global Communication and Services Holdings Limited, by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for investment in Aircel.

The FIPB approval was allegedly granted in 2006 when Chidambaram was the finance minister. According to the rules and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy of the government, Chidambaram was only empowered to give approval to proposals involving a foreign investment amount of up to Rs 600 crore.

However, he reportedly approved the foreign investment proposal of Global Communication and Services Holdings Ltd worth around Rs 3560 crore.