Chinese Visa Scam case: Karti Chidambaram gets regular bail in ED case

File Photo

Congress Leader Karti Chidambaram was granted regular bail by the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi on Thursday. Chidambaram is accused of money laundering in connection with the Chinese Visa issue. While granting bail, Special Judge Kaveri Baweja ordered him to provide a one lakh personal bond and two sureties in the same amount.

The court has already called the accused after receiving the charge sheet. Karti Chidambaram and the other seven accused parties in the case received summonses from the Rouse Avenue Court on March 19. A prosecution charge was recently filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Karti Chidambaram, S Bhaskararaman, and several other people and companies.

In the case, ASG SV Raju appeared on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate and verbally promised the court that no coercive action would be taken while the matter was ongoing in court. Karti Chidambaram had already filed an anticipatory bail motion in the Delhi High Court. Senior Attorney Kapil Sibal has said that the accused was not supported by any evidence. Since there are no claims that any money was provided to Karti Chidambaram, no money laundering complaint has been filed, he stated.

If there is no money, it cannot be laundered. Still, they registered the ECIR. The accused has joined the investigation and is cooperating with it. The alleged transaction is from 2011, and they registered the case for 2022," Sibal argued in court.

"There is apprehension of arrest as they registered the ECIR within ten days of the registration of the FIR by the CBI. I am named in that ECIR, and they can arrest me anytime without even calling me or giving me notice. In the CBI case, I have been given 72 hours of notice before arrest. So that I can approach the court," he argued.

He had previously maintained that the purported transaction was worth less than one crore, or Rs. 50 lakh. Sibal stated that Karti Chidambaram ought to be released on bail due to this fact. However, ASG SV Raju argued that since there is no relevant evidence in the case, the bail request is premature.

"We will investigate the case. Still, they have apprehension of arrest; why do they do so? If no case is made against them, then why do they have apprehension?" he said.

He argued that this application was premature, as no summons was issued and only an ECIR was registered. Therefore, the apprehension of arrest is not genuine. The CBI judge of the Rouse Avenue Court earlier dismissed all three applications moved by Karti Chidambaram, S. Bhaskararaman, and Vikas Makharia.

(With Inputs from ANI)