Aircel-Maxis cases: Court order reserved to September 5

A Delhi court on Monday reserved for September 5 its order on the anticipatory bail pleas of Congress leader P Chidambaram and his son Karti in the Aircel-Maxis cases lodged by the CBI and the ED.

Special Judge O P Saini listed the matter after hearing the submissions from the agencies and the Chidambarams.

Earlier, the court had said that it was not happy with the agencies seeking repeated adjournments and had given the ultimatum that if they would not argue the matter, it would pass the order on September 3.

The cases relate to alleged irregularities in grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval in the Rs 3,500-crore Aircel-Maxis deal when P Chidambaram was finance minister.

The father and son were given interim protection from arrest by the court after they had filed anticipatory bail applications in the case.

Their protection from arrest has been extended from time to time. The previous extension was ending on August 23.

Chidambaram and Karti were named in the charge sheet filed by the CBI in the case on July 19 last year.

The CBI is probing how Chidambaram, who was finance minister in 2006, granted FIPB approval to a foreign firm, when only the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) was empowered to do it.

The ED is also probing a separate money-laundering case in the Aircel-Maxis matter, in which the Chidambarams have been questioned by the agency and their anticipatory bail is pending.

The Chidambarams are under the scanner of investigating agencies in the Aircel-Maxis deal as also the INX Media case involving Rs 305 crore.