INX Media case: Supreme Court refuses urgent listing of P Chidambaram's petition

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused urgent listing of Congress leader P Chidambaram’s petition seeking protection from arrest in the INX Media scam cases. The top court said the defects in the petition were removed just now and it “cannot be listed for hearing today itself”. “Without listing of the petition, we cannot hear the matter,” said a bench comprising Justices N V Ramana, M Shantanagoudar and Ajay Rastogi.

“Sorry Mr Sibal. We cannot hear the matter” the bench said when Sibal repeatedly asked for hearing the matter today itself.

Earlier, trouble mounted for P Chidambaram as he got no relief from the Supreme Court in connection with the anticipatory bail plea in INX media case today. While hearing the plea, Justice NV Ramana sent the file of Chidambaram’s plea seeking interim bail before Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi to pass the order. Justice Ramana referring the case to CJI means that there is no shield for Chidambaram from the imminent arrest.

In his anticipatory bail plea, Chidambaram has maintained that he, "isn't a flight risk, haven't been accused of influencing witnesses of tampering with the evidence."

On Tuesday, hours after the Delhi High Court refused former Union finance minister P Chidambaram to grant any protection from arrest in the INX Media case, the a six-member CBI team issued a notice to him asking him to appear before the investigation officer "within two hours", after failing to find him at his residence. Soon after the CBI team returned empty hand, an Enforcement Directorate team also reached his Jor Bagh residence in Delhi.