Karti Chidambaram, son of former finance minister P Chidambaram, has moved the Supreme Court challenging the summons issued against him by the CBI in the Aircel Maxis case calling it "illegal and mala fide".
In a five-page submission to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Karti said he has challenged the agency's summons in the apex court.
He conveyed to the CBI, which had asked him to appear before it for questioning in the case today, that the summons was "illegal and mala fide" and a bid to harass him and his family.
The submission, sent to the CBI through his lawyer Arun Natarajan, asked the agency not to insist on his appearance in the matter.
"My client has filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India before the Supreme Court challenging the action of the CBI in issuing summons to my client in the charge sheet in RC no 22(a)/2011-DLI," it said.
In the communication, the lawyer said in connection with the matter of Aircel Maxis and INX media, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram had filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court on September 29.
Karti and his father were questioned by the agency on November 19 and December 6, 2014, respectively, it said. "The CBI and other investigative wings under the control of the present Union government, from time to time, issue malicious press releases or take coercive action driven by political vendetta in order to blatantly sensationalise and publicise this campaign against my client and his family with the intent to malign their reputation," it said.
The lawyer said all proceedings connected with the matter had been terminated. Since all the accused in the case had been discharged, the CBI should not have issued its notice.
Natarajan said this "malicious campaign" against Karti and his family was an "orchestrated attempt to malign his reputation and (that) of his father", who, it added, was a prominent leader of the largest opposition party.
After Karti did not appear before the agency last month, the CBI had contradicted his claim on the issue of court proceedings and said only four of the eight charge-sheeted accused were discharged by the special court. The agency had filed an appeal against the special court's order in the Delhi High Court in May this year.
"FIR RC-22(A)/2011-DLI has not been quashed by the court and further investigation under 173(8) of the CrPC is continuing," CBI Spokesperson Abhishek Dayal had said. He had said two Malaysian nationals and two Malaysian companies charge-sheeted by the agency in the matter did not appear before the special court and warrants were issued against the individuals.
"Court proceedings are still pending. A request has been placed before the Interpol for the issuance of Red Notices against the two Malaysian nationals," Dayal said. A Red Notice is issued by the Interpol asking law enforcement agencies of member countries to detain an absconding accused and intimate the country making the request.
The investigation into alleged irregularities in granting a foreign investment approval to Global Communication Services Holdings Ltd for investment in Aircel is still going on, CBI sources said.
They said the agency was also looking into investments made by firms controlled by Karti into Aircel while the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance issue was under the consideration of the UPA government.
In August 2014, the CBI had charge-sheeted former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi, Malaysian business tycoon T Ananda Krishnan, Malaysian national Ralph Marshall and four firms-- Sun Direct TV Pvt Ltd, South Asia Entertainment Holding Ltd, Maxis Communication Berhad and ASTRO All Asia Network PLC.
In an order on February 2 this year, the special CBI court had discharged Dayanidhi and Kalanithi, Sun Direct TV Pvt Ltd and South Asia Entertainment Holding Ltd saying that the charges were without any "legal basis".
The court order, however, did not have any effect on the two accused Malaysian nationals-- Marshall and Krishnan--in the CBI's case as the court had already segregated the proceedings against them from that of the Maran brothers and others. Both had not appeared before the court.
The CBI had challenged the discharge order in the Delhi High Court on May 11 this year. P Chidambaram, in a statement in 2014, had dismissed the allegations against him saying the FIPB clearance was granted in due course.