EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE DELHI THE HINDU 12 NEWS THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2019 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE FROM PAGE ONE ED, CBI allege ‘illegal’ FIPB nod Chidambaram fails Chidambaram arrested Agencies say these relate to clearances given when Chidambaram was Minister to get hearing at SC in INX Media case Special Correspondent nancing company to a Singa­ NEW DELHI pore­based entity are also Bail plea caught in filing procedure “I believe that the founda­ commendation of his The main offence against being probed, the official tion of a democracy is liber­ lawyers he moved the apex Congress leader P. Chidam­ said. The ED is pursuing mo­ Krishnadas Rajagopal ty, [and the] most precious court. baram revolves around cer­ ney­laundering charges and New Delhi article of the Constitution is He said that he was agh­ tain “illegal” approvals by investments in moveable/im­ Former Union Finance Mi­ Article 21 that guarantees ast that he was being brand­ the Foreign Investment Pro­ moveable assets in India and nister P. Chidambaram’s life and liberty. If I am asked ed as an absconder. motion Board during his te­ countries such as the U.K., plea on Wednesday to pro­ to choose between life and “I was accused of running nure as former Finance Mi­ Spain and Malaysia. It claims tect him from arrest in the liberty, I will choose liber­ away from justice. On the nister and alleged kickbacks to have identified more than INX Media case got tangled ty,” Mr. Chidambaram said. contrary I was engaged in received by his son Karti two dozen foreign bank ac­ in the nitty­gritty of filing He said that when he got the pursuit of justice,” he through shell companies, ac­ counts. procedure in the Supreme summons from the CBI and added explaining that he cording to the Enforcement “Investigations by the CBI Court and failed to reach the the ED it was only natural along with his team were Directorate (ED) and the A CBI notice pasted on the compound wall of Congress leader and the ED are still continu­ judges on time for a hear­ that he moved the court to working to complete the ne­ Central Bureau of Investiga­ P. Chidambaram’s house in Delhi on Wednesday. * R.V. MOORTHY ing in above referred cases,” ing. P. Chidambaram get interim relief. cessary papers to move the tion (CBI). the official said. “Only in the The day saw senior advo­ After rejection of the anti­ Supreme Court. On Wednesday, CBI offi­ several cases, including Air­ Karti, which were floated in case of Aircel­Maxis, charge cates Kapil Sibal, Salman bal urged. cipatory bail plea in the Del­ His bail plea is listed for cials visited Mr. Chidamba­ cel­Maxis and INX Media, “il­ the name of his employee sheet and prosecution com­ Khurshid and Vivek Tankha The mentioning was hi High Court, on the re­ Friday in the apex court. ram’s Jor Bagh residence legal” FIPB approvals were and business associates. plaint [by ED] has been engage in a dogged pursuit made before Justice Rama­ again, hours after they had granted. “These approvals filed,” the official added. to have the case listed be­ na, the third most senior pasted a notice on the wall are being investigated by the Panama Papers The shareholders and di­ fore a Bench. judge of the apex court, as outside his house asking him Central Bureau of Investiga­ In one shell company, depo­ rectors of a main shell com­ Mr. Tankha told The Hin- Chief Justice Gogoi and Jus­ No plan to curb social to appear before the INX Me­ tion and the ED,” said a se­ sits of more than ₹300 crore pany had made a Will trans­ du that it had been orally tice S.A. Bobde, the second dia case probe team within nior official, speaking on were made. One firm re­ ferring the entire conveyed to them by the most senior judge, were two hours. condition of anonymity. ceived payments from a Brit­ shareholding to Mr. Chidam­ apex court Registry that the both part of the Ayodhya media: Madras HC Both the Central agencies The CBI is investigating ish Virgin Islands­based baram’s granddaughter, the case would be listed on Au­ Bench. have already issued look­out the alleged receipt of kick­ company, which had figured ED says. The Executor of the gust 23 (Friday) before an But Justice Ramana was Differentiating between is­ media giants in solving cyb­ circulars against him. backs paid to various shell in the Panama Papers. Pay­ Will was Mr. Karti, the agen­ appropriate Bench. non­committal. He simply sues being adjudicated by er crimes, the Bench decid­ The agencies allege that in companies “linked” to Mr. ments by an Indian home fi­ cy alleges. “We want a hearing. My told the lawyers that the other High Courts and that ed to adjudicate that issue client is not running away. A case file would be placed be­ which they were dealing alone in terms of the provi­ lookout notice has been is­ fore the Chief Justice. It was with, the judges said, a deci­ sions of the Information sued against him. It is pain­ the prerogative of the CJI, as sion was taken by them long Technology Act of 2000 and ful...”, Mr. Sibal said at one master of roster, to decide back to “not address” the the statutory rules framed Witch-hunt for speaking truth: Cong. point. the time of the hearing and prayers as such in the two thereunder. Mr. Sibal and his team appropriate Bench for the PIL petitions in view of the Senior counsel Mukul Ro­ waited expectantly to catch case. Supreme Court verdict hatgi, representing one of Party leaders say Modi government is only reiterating its cowardly nature the attention of Chief Justice Solicitor General Tushar upholding the constitution­ the social media companies, of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, Mehta, for the CBI, inter­ al validity of Aadhaar with stated that all these issues Special Correspondent to fight for the truth no mat­ who was at the head of a vened to say that the INX riders. were brought to the notice New Delhi ter what the consequences Constitution Bench rising Media case involved “mo­ In a majority opinion de­ of the Supreme Court on The Congress on Wednesday are. The Congress officially for the day at 4 p.m. after ney laundering of monu­ livered in Justice K.S. Puttas­ Tuesday by Attorney Gener­ rallied around former Fi­ too has taken an unequivo­ hearing the Ayodhya ap­ mental magnitude.” wamy’s case on September al K.K. Venugopal. Yet, the nance Minister P. Chidamba­ cal stand supporting him, peals. They expected him to Mr. Sibal and his team left 26, 2018, the Supreme Court apex court had restrained ram, who is facing arrest in and accused the government address them before leaving Justice Ramana’s court to had held that there was the Madras High Court from two cases of alleged corrup­ of “persecuting” him for the courtroom. But he left immediately troop into the nothing wrong in linking passing any kind of “effec­ tion. speaking truth. without a word. CJI court next door where Aadhaar with the Perma­ tive order” on the PIL Many senior leaders, in­ “A government that perse­ The series of events be­ the Ayodhya Bench was nent Account Number (PAN) petitions. cluding former Congress cutes its citizens for speaking gan with Mr. Sibal making about to assemble. Howev­ issued by the Income Tax Stating that it was actual­ president Rahul Gandhi and the other Opposition parties Gandhi Vadra, tweeted that truth to power is only reiter­ an oral mention before Jus­ er, when the judges sat for department but declared as ly a polite way of asking the general secretary Priyanka have maintained a studied Mr. Chidambaram was being ating its own cowardly na­ tice Ramana at 10.30 a.m. the day, the legal team, after unconstitutional its linkage High Court to not proceed Gandhi Vadra, have called silence. hunted down for speaking ture. P. Chidambaram is an He fervently sought an ur­ a few moments of taut si­ with bank accounts and SIM with the hearing on the PIL the action taken by the CBI “[Prime Minister Naren­ the truth. extremely qualified and res­ gent hearing of Mr. Chidam­ lence, inexplicably with­ cards. petitions until a decision and the Enforcement Direc­ dra] Modi’s government is “He unhesitatingly speaks pected leader. He has served baram’s appeal against the drew from the courtroom The court had also insu­ was taken by the apex court torate a witch­hunt for using the ED, CBI and sec­ truth to power and exposes this nation with dedication & dismissal of his anticipatory without mentioning the lated children from the Aad­ on the transfer petitions, speaking out against the tions of a spineless media to the failures of this govern­ humility. We stand by his bail plea by the Delhi High case. haar regime and ordered the senior counsel urged the government. character­assassinate Mr. ment, but the truth is incon­ quest for truth no matter Court on Tuesday. By afternoon, after a that educational institutions court to simply adjourn the Chidambaram. I strongly venient to cowards so he is what,” the Congress said on “Please give him [Mr. Chi­ closed­door huddle in the should not insist on produc­ hearing after September 13, Stalin’s support condemn this disgraceful being shamefully hunted its official Twitter account. dambaram] the relief of pro­ Supreme Court consultation tion of Aadhaar cards. The­ the next date of hearing on Barring Dravida Munnetra misuse of power,” Mr.