INX media case: SC rejects Karti Chidambaram's plea for return of Rs 10 cr

The Supreme Court Wednesday dismissed Congress MP Karti Chidambaram's plea seeking return of Rs 10 crore which he had deposited with the court's registry as a condition for being allowed to travel abroad.

A vacation bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Aniruddha Bose rejected the plea by Karti, who is facing criminal cases which are being probed by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate.

"Now you pay attention to your constituency," it said.

The son of former Union minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has won the Lok Sabha election from Sivaganga parliamentary constituency in Tamil Nadu.

"Having heard counsel for the applicant (Karti), we are not inclined to allow the prayer made. The application is accordingly dismissed," the bench said in its order.

During the hearing, Karti's counsel told the bench that as per apex court's order, Karti had deposited Rs 10 crore in the court registry as a condition for travelling abroad and the money should be returned to him as he had came back to India.

"Every time you (Karti) go abroad, you have to deposit Rs 10 crore. Otherwise, what we can do is that you take back Rs 10 crore deposited by you and we would make the next amount (as a condition for travelling abroad) as Rs 20 crore," the bench told his counsel.

The bench was hearing Karti's plea in which he had sought return of Rs 10 crore deposited by him in the court registry, claiming he had taken the money on loan and was paying interest on it.

On May 7, a bench headed by the CJI had allowed Karti to travel to the United Kingdom, US, France, Germany and Spain in May and June this year.

"The applicant (Karti) shall make a deposit of Rs 10 crore only before the Secretary General of this Court, which will be returned to him after he comes back to the country," the bench had said in its May 7 order.

The apex court had in January also granted Karti permission to travel abroad after depositing Rs 10 crore with the secretary general of the Supreme Court.

The court, on the request of ED, had earlier asked Karti to file an undertaking that he would return to India and cooperate with the investigation.

The court had said that it would "come down heavily" on Karti if he did not cooperate.

The probe agency had earlier opposed the plea of Karti seeking permission to travel abroad and alleged that he has been evasive, non-cooperative and caused delay in completing the investigations.

Karti was abroad for 51 days in the last 6 months, the probe agency had told the court earlier.

The ED had earlier claimed that Karti, who is also facing proceedings in cases like Aircel-Maxis and money laundering matters, has been "blatantly misusing" the liberty granted by court in allowing him to travel abroad and has been using the same to protract the investigation in the case.

Karti is facing several criminal cases being investigated by the ED and CBI including one which relates to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance to INX Media for receiving foreign funds of Rs 305 crore when his father was the finance minister.