Chinese Visa Scam case: Karti Chidambaram gets regular bail in ED case

New Delhi [India], June 6 (ANI): The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi on Thursday granted regular bail to Congress Leader Karti Chidambaram in a money laundering case connected with the Chinese Visa case.

The Special Judge, Kaveri Baweja, while granting bail, directed him to furnish a personal bond of one lakh and two sureties of the same amount.

The accused persons were earlier summoned by the court after cognizance of the charge sheet.

The Rouse Avenue Court on March 19 issued summons to Karti Chidambaram and the other seven accused in the case.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently filed a prosecution complaint naming Karti Chidambaram, S Bhaskararaman, and several others, including several firms named as the accused.

In the case, Karti Chidambaram had earlier moved an anticipatory bail in Delhi High Court, where ASG SV Raju appeared for the Enforcement Directorate and orally assured the court that no coercive action would be taken while the matter was pending in the court.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal had argued there was no material against the accused. No money laundering case is made out, as there are no allegations that any money was given to Karti Chidambaram, he said.

If there is no money, it cannot be laundered. Still, they registered the ECIR. The accused has joined the investigation and is cooperating in it. The alleged transaction is from 2011, and they registered the case for 2022,” Sibal argued in court.

“There is apprehension of arrest as they registered the ECIR within ten days of the registration of the FIR by the CBI. I am named in that ECIR, and they can arrest me anytime without even calling me or giving me notice. In the CBI case, I have been given 72 hours of notice before arrest. So that I can approach the court,” he argued.

Earlier, he had argued that the value of the alleged transaction was Rs. 50 lakh, which is less than one crore. In view of this fact, Karti Chidambaram should be granted bail, Sibal said.

On the other hand, ASG SV Raju submitted that the bail application is premature as there is no material in the case.

“We will investigate the case. Still, they have apprehension of arrest; why do they do so? If no case is made against them, then why do they have apprehension?” he said.

He argued that this application was premature, as no summons was issued and only an ECIR was registered. Therefore, the apprehension of arrest is not genuine. The CBI judge of the Rouse Avenue Court earlier dismissed all three applications moved by Karti Chidambaram, S. Bhaskararaman, and Vikas Makharia.