Senior Advocate P Chidambaram arrested by CBI in INX Media Case

Senior advocate, Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from his residence in relation to the INX Media Case..The Senior Advocate had not been in the public eye for nearly 27 hours before addressing the media this evening at 8:15. At the press briefing, Chidambaram said that he was not “hiding from the law” but was taking recourse to it for protection. When Chidambaram reached his residence following this brief press briefing, several teams of the CBI, as well as the Enforcement Directorate (ED), reached his residence ultimately resulting in his arrest by the CBI..According to NDTV, the CBI personnel were even seen scaling the boundary wall and running along the roof in order to enter the residence of Chidambaram..Chidambaram who was denied anticipatory bail in the INX Media case by the Delhi High Court on Tuesday had immediately moved the Supreme Court challenging this order. After several attempts to secure an urgent listing of the petition failed, Chidambaram’s petition was eventually expected to be taken up on Friday for hearing. However, in light of Chidamabaram’s arrest, the petition has now been rendered infructuous..The former Finance Minister will now have to seek regular bail from the Trial Court..P Chidambaram was denied anticipatory bail by the Delhi High Court in the INX Media case yesterday by a Single Judge Bench of Justice Sunil Gaur. Justice Gaur had observed that a prima facie case was made out against Chidambaram, and that it was not a fit case for grant of pre-arrest bail..He was then constrained to approach the Supreme Court seeking an urgent listing of his appeal..The INX Media case pertains to the alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance to INX Media at the time when P Chidambaram was the Finance Minister. It is the case of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram received illegal gratification from INX Media owners, Peter and Indrani Mukherjea for the clearance.