Delhi court issues summons to Chidambarams in Aircel Maxis case

A Delhi court on Saturday summoned former Union minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti after taking cognizance of the separate charge sheets filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Aircel Maxis case. Special Judge MK Nagpal noted that there was sufficient evidence to summon Chidambaram and the other accused in the corruption and money-laundering cases.  This court is of the considered opinion that sufficient grounds exist to take congnizance and for proceeding further against all the fourteen accused persons being prosecuted through these complaints for commission of the offence of money-laundering as defined by Section 3 of the PMLA and made punishable by Section 4 of the said Act, the judge said. Rajya Sabha MP and former Union Minister P Chidambaram will appear before the court on December 20.

The case relates to the alleged irregularities in the grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval in the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2006 when Chidambaram was the finance minister during the tenure of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. The CBI and the ED have alleged that as the finance minister, Chidambaram granted approval to the deal beyond his capacity, which benefitted certain persons and he received kickbacks in return.