CBI court reserves order on Indrani Mukerjee's plea to turn approver in INX media case

A special CBI court on Thursday reserved its order over a plea filed by Indrani Mukerjee seeking permission to turn approver in the INX media case in which former finance minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram are facing probe.

Special CBI Judge Anurag Sain is likely to pass the order on May 29 over the plea filed by Mukerjee. She is currently lodged in the Byculla jail in Mumbai in connection with the murder case of her daughter Sheena Bora.

During the course of hearing, the CBI submitted before the court that it has come across evidence in the form of conversations which only Indrani Mukerjee is privy to and will help consolidate the case.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI are probing how Karti managed to obtain clearance to the tune of Rs 305 crore from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in 2007 when his father was the Finance Minister.

The ED had registered a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case based on an FIR registered by the CBI and alleged that irregularities took place in the FIPB clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007 when Chidambaram was the Union Finance Minister.

Both the investigating agencies are also probing how Karti managed to obtain the FIPB clearance.Karti Chidambaram was arrested on February 28, 2018. He was later granted bail. The ED probe has so far showed that for the FIPB approval, INX Media directors Peter and Indrani Mukerjea met

P Chidambaram so that there was no delay in their application.

The ED has attached properties belonging to Karti Chidambaram and a firm in connection with the case. It has also attached properties belonging to the Mukherjea's in connection with the same case.