Delhi Court Accepts CBI Chargesheet Against P Chidambaram In INX Media Case

A Delhi court on Monday accepted the chargesheet filed against former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, his son Karti and several others in the INX Media case. The court directed Chidambaram to be produced before it on October 24. However, the date of appearance of other accused will be announced later. On Friday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed a chargesheet in the case against Chidambaram and his son Karti and 12 others, including Peter Mukerjea, and some bureaucrats.

In the chargesheet, the CBI has alleged that P Chidambaram "misused his official position" in granting approval to a FDI proposal of INX Media and INX News Pvt Ltd in lieu of "illegal gratification" in India and through offshore payments. Besides Chidambaram, his son Karti and 12 others, including bureaucrats, were accused of causing loss to the exchequer by committing offences under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.

However, Indrani Mukerjea, who had accused the former union minister of taking money in the INX Media corruption case, was named in the CBI chargesheet but she won’t be tired. According to the CBI chargesheet filed before a special court, Indrani Mukerjea was an accused in the case but she turned "turned approver and pardoned".

Also Read | INX Media Case: Indrani Mukerjea, Who Accused P Chidambaram Of Bribery, 'Pardoned' In CBI Chargesheet

Karti's Chartered Accountant S Bhaskararaman and Indrani's former husband Peter Mukerjea, who was the director of INX Media Limited when the alleged corruption took place, were also named in the final report. The name of Indrani Mukerjea, who was a former promoter of INX Media and an accused-turned approver, did appear in the final report but with CBI's "pardon".

The charge sheet was filed just a couple of days before the mandatory 60-day period from the day of arrest of Chidambaram in the corruption case to do so expires on October 20, i.e., Sunday, failing which he would have been entitled for grant of 'default bail' under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).