[dropcap]A[/dropcap] Delhi court has extended the custody of former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram till September 5 in INX media case as ordered by the Supreme Court earlier in the day.
The apex court said it would hear Chidambaram’s plea on challenging the non-bailable warrant and trial court’s order that sent him to CBI custody on Thursday. Chidambaram’s bail petition filed in the case registered by Enforcement Directorate has also been listed on September 5 before the apex court.
Chidambaram is under the CBI’s custody since August 21 for investigation in the controversial INX Media scandal.
The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued before the court that CBI does not want Chidambaram’s custody any longer and contended to “allow law to take its own course”.
However, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi requested the court to maintain the status quo till September 5 and said that they would not press its bail application before the trial court until then.
The two-judge bench of Justices RBanumathi and AS Bopanna while posting the matter for hearing on Thursday said: “We are conscious that we should not usurp the jurisdiction of the concerned trial court”.
The CBI had registered an FIR on May 15, 2017, alleging irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance granted to the INX Media group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007 during Chidambaram’s tenure as the finance minister.
