SC refuses to release Karti's Rs 10-cr deposit as security to travel abroad

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea by newly elected MP Karti Chidambaram seeking the release of Rs 10 crore he earlier deposited with its registry as a condition to travel abroad.

A vacation bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Aniruddha Bose, while dismissing the petition, told Karti to pay attention to his constituency.

During the proceedings, his advocate Shally Bhasin had requested the court to release the amount which was deposited in January this year as security by Karti to visit foreign countries.

"Pay attention to your constituency. Why are you after the Rs 10 crore deposited in the court? Every time you (Karti) go abroad you have to deposit Rs 10 crore. We will refund Rs 10 crore but next time you go we will say deposit Rs 20 crore." the bench said.

Karti, son of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, had earlier told the court through his advocate that he had taken a loan to furnish the security deposit and is paying interest.

On January 30, the top court had allowed Karti, who is facing probe in cases of corruption, to travel abroad after depositing Rs 10 crore as security.

Earlier in the month, he again approached the apex court seeking its permission to travel to the US, Spain and Germany for international tennis tournaments in May and June and was allowed on the same condition.

Karti has been questioned on several occasions in the INX media case in which the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (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 PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) case based on the FIR by the CBI and alleged that irregularities took place in the FIPB clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds.

Karti was arrested on February 28, 2018, but was later granted bail.

The ED has claimed the probe showed that for the FIPB approval, then INX Media directors Peter and Indrani Mukerjea had met P Chidambaram to get their application expedited.

The ED has attached properties worth Rs 54 crore belonging to Karti Chidambaram and a firm in connection with the case. It has also attached properties belonging to the Mukherjeas in connection with the case.