Delhi court allows Karti Chidambaram to travel to Europe, terms it 'fundamental right'

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday allowed Congress leader Karti Chidambaram, accused in corruption and money laundering cases related to alleged Aircel Maxis and INX Media scams, to travel to Europe later this year, calling it an important facet of the right to life and liberty guaranteed under the Constitution.

Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh allowed Chidambaram to travel to France, Spain and the United Kingdom in September, October and November, noting that Chidambaram had been granted permission to travel abroad earlier also on various occasions, and that there was no instance of misuse of that liberty in any manner.

"The right to travel abroad has been considered to be an important facet of Right to Life and Liberty guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and there is no reason as to why the applicant should be deprived of that right, having considered all the facts and circumstances. Earlier also the applicant was permitted to travel abroad and he did not misuse the liberty. I need not burden the present order with the detailed facts of the cases, being unnecessary," the judge said.

The judge also noted that a fixed deposit receipt (FDR) for Rs 1 crore was already furnished by the accused before the court, and said it shall be retained on record as a security deposit.

The judge also imposed various conditions on Chidambaram, including that he will not open or close any bank account overseas, will not enter into any kind of property transactions while travelling abroad and will not make any attempt to tamper with the evidence or influence the witnesses of the cases in any manner.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a money laundering case against Chidambaram and others in the alleged scam involving the issuance of visas to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011 when his father P Chidambaram was the Union home minister.

It registered its case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), taking cognisance of an FIR filed by the CBI in the same case.

The other case relates to alleged irregularities in the grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval in the Aircel-Maxis deal.

The approval was granted in 2006 when P Chidambaram was the Union finance minister.

The CBI and the ED have alleged that as the finance minister, the senior Chidambaram granted approval to the deal beyond his capacity, benefitting certain persons, and received kickbacks.