Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram on Saturday moved the Delhi High Court seeking anticipatory bail in a case registered by the Enforcement Directorate in the alleged Chinese visas scam.
The plea has been listed for Monday for hearing before Justice Poonam A Bamba.
This comes a day after CBI judge MK Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Court denied the relief to Karti, S Bhaskararaman and Vikas Makharia, saying the offence was of a very serious nature.
The court had considered the alleged past involvement of Karti Chidambaram and S Bhaskararaman in INX Media and Aircel Maxis cases for denying the bail.
It also vacated the interim protection from arrest granted to the accused during the pendency of the anticipatory bail application and directed them to join the probe as and when they are called upon by the investigating officer.
The court was of the view that any further interim protection to the accused would seriously hamper the process and progress of the investigation.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, advocate Arshdeep Singh and advocate Prateek Chadda had appeared for Karti in the matter.
The ED registered case against Karti and others in the alleged scam pertaining to the issuance of visas to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011 when his father P Chidambaram was the home minister.
The ED has filed a case under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, taking cognizance of a recent First Information Report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the case.
It is alleged that Karti received illegal gratification of ₹50 lakh to illegally facilitate visas for 263 Chinese nationals’ to complete a power project in Punjab.
Karti ‘misused his influence’ in the home ministry in 2011 and ‘conspired’ with co-accused to devise a “back-door way to defeat the purpose of the ceiling” on work permits imposed by the ministry, CBI has alleged.
Besides Karti, the other accused are his chartered accountant Bhaskararaman, Makharia, representative of Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd, a Mansa-based private company, and Bell Tools, Mumbai, have been named. The FIR also mentions “unknown public servants and private individuals” too.
Karti had recently issued a statement and claimed that he is neither directly nor indirectly involved in a visa case.
“I have no relationship whatsoever with any of the corporate entities mentioned in the FIR in which I have been named as an accused. I’m neither aware of them, nor have I ever been associated with them or any of their representatives in any manner. I say with certainty that I have never facilitated even a single Chinese national in their visa process, let alone 250,” said Karti.
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