The apex
court set aside the November 15 verdict of the Delhi High Court denying him
bail in the case.
Senior Congress leader P
Chidambaram was restrained by the Supreme Court on Wednesday
from either giving any press interviews or making public comments regarding him
or other co-accused in the INX Media money laundering case.
The apex court
imposed this condition while granting bail to the 74-year-old former finance
minister in the case lodged by Enforcement Directorate (ED).
“The
appellant (Chidambaram) shall not give any press interviews nor make any public
comment in connection with this case qua him or other co-accused,” a bench
comprising Justices R Banumathi, A S Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy said.
This condition
assumes significance as during the hearing on Chidambaram’s plea seeking bail,
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED, had claimed that ahead of
a crucial hearing in the case media reports and articles were published to
influence the proceedings.
The apex court
set aside the November 15 verdict of the Delhi
High Court denying him bail in the case.
Chidambaram has
been in custody since August 21 when he was arrested by the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) in the INX Media corruption case. On October 16, the ED
arrested him in the money-laundering case.
Six days later,
on October 22, the apex court had granted him bail in the case lodged by the
CBI.
The CBI had
registered its case on May 15, 2017, alleging irregularities in a Foreign
Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to the INX Media group for
receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007 during Chidambaram’s tenure as
finance minister.
The ED lodged a
money laundering case after that.
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