Aircel-Maxis Case: After protection from arrest till July 10, ED grills P Chidambaram for over six hours

A Delhi court on Tuesday extended former finance minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram’s interim protection from arrest in Aircel-Maxis money laundering case till July 10. The extension order came after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sought more time to file a detailed reply to Chidambaram’s plea seeking anticipatory bail in the case.

Appearing for the probe agency, senior advocate Sonia Mathur and advocate Nitesh Rana filed a petition seeking four weeks’ time to file a detailed reply to oppose Chidambaram’s anticipatory bail plea.

At this, senior advocate and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Chidambaram, requested the court to hear the matter on July 10 when the court will hear the similar anticipatory bail plea filed by Chidambaram’s son Karti in the same case.

On May 30, the former finance minister had moved his plea seeking anticipatory bail in the Aircel Maxis money laundering case, saying that all the documentary evidence were already in the possession of the incumbent government and nothing was to be recovered from him.

Soon after the court’s extension order, the Congress leader, accompanied by his lawyer, appeared before the ED at its headquarter annexe office in connection with the money laundering case.

Early on Monday, the ED had issued a fresh summon to Chidambaram to appear before the investigating officer in foreign investment clearance granted in 2006 to 3,500 crore Aircel-Maxis deal when he was finance minister of the country.