Former Union minister P Chidambaram was granted bail in the INX Media case by the Supreme Court today. He was granted the bail on a personal bond of Rs. 2 lakh and two sureties of the same amount. The court has said that he will neither be able to leave the country during the period of bail nor be able to discuss the case in public or issue statements to press regarding the case.
The former minister was kept in Tihar jail after being arrested on August 21 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the INX Media case. He was later granted bail by the apex court on October 22. The former minister was again taken into custody in a money laundering case related to the INX Media case on October 16 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
According to the allegations, Chidambaram facilitated bringing in of foreign funds into the television company INX Media in 2007 and his son Karti Chidambaram received kickbacks for it. The Delhi High Court had earlier refused to grant him anticipatory bail and he failed to get immediate relief from the Supreme Court.
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While opposing the bail today, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who was appearing for the ED, said that the decision would shake people’s faith from the judiciary system. But advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Chidambaram, reasoned that there was no direct or indirect evidence against him.
