A Delhi court on Tuesday charged Congress Member of Parliament Karti Chidambaram with the offences of criminal conspiracy and bribing a public servant in the alleged Chinese Visa scam case.
Special Judge (PC Act) Dig Vinay Singh of the Rouse Avenue Court framed charges against Chidambaram and six others.
The Court said that the material established a strong suspicion against Chidambaram. Therefore, it rejected his plea for discharge from the case.
"Prima facie, sufficient material exists to frame charges against A-2 [Chidambaram] for Criminal conspiracy, under Section 120B IPC, read with Section 204 IPC and Sections 8 & 9 of the PC Act, 1988. Substantive offences under Sections 8 & 9 (in alternative) of the PC Act, 1988, read with Section 120B IPC," the Court ordered.
The Court discharged one Chetan Shrivastava from the case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleged that Chidambaram was facilitating visas of 250 Chinese nationals after receiving illegal gratification of ₹50 lakh. The allegations in the CBI’s first information report (FIR) were that Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL) had paid an amount of ₹50 lakh to Bell Tools Limited (BTL), which in turn relayed it to S Bhaskararaman as gratification for the Chinese visas. Bhaskararaman is stated to be Chidambaram's aide.
However, the Congress leader claims that nothing incriminating was found during the search proceedings against him.
Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra with Advocates Arshdeep Singh Khurana and Akshat Gupta appeared for Chidambaram.
[Read Order]