india

Updated: Sep 04, 2019 01:12 IST

Former Union minister P Chidambaram will continue to be in Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody until Thursday, September 5, after the Supreme Court on Tuesday extended the partial reprieve protecting him from being sent to Tihar jail.

The CBI custody would help keep 73-year-old Chidambaram out of Tihar jail despite solicitor general Tushar Mehta telling the court that the investigating agency had no more questions to ask the former finance minister in the INX Media case.

“We don’t want custody anymore… Let the law take its own course,” Mehta told a two-judge bench led by justice R Banumathi on Chidambaram’s petition against a lower court order remanding him to CBI custody for interrogation. “Just because one man doesn’t want to be placed in judicial custody, why should this court pass any order,” Mehta said, arguing that the Supreme Court should not regulate what should happen in a trial court.

The bench extended the reprieve to Chidambaram after his legal team assured the bench that they will not press the bail application before the trial court on Tuesday, later in the day. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhivi said they will wait until September 5.

On September 5, the Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict on Chidambaram’s petition seeking anticipatory bail in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case of money laundering against the senior Congress politician and Rajya Sabha member, and also take up his petition challenging the CBI’s action against him.

The CBI filed an affidavit in the court opposing Chidambaram’s petition challenging the remand order by a trial court judge in the INX Media corruption case, saying it would set a “bad precedent” as the Congress leader’s move was not in line with the remedy available to him under procedures. CBI said Chidambaram should have procedurally applied to the Delhi high court but, instead, chose to come directly to the top court for relief. In matters of bail and anticipatory bail, the high court is the final arbiter and the top court intervenes if only extraordinary and special reasons are shown.

CBI said Chidambaram’s personal liberty was not more important than that of ordinary citizens as it questioned the step taken by the former minister in selecting the judicial platform. CBI said if the top court agrees to hear his petition, other common citizens too would be entitled to similar relief.

Outside the court room, on being asked if he had anything to say about his custody, Chidambaram hit out at the National Democratic Alliance government over the slump in Gross Domestic Product growth, which slowed to 5%in the April-June quarter and said, “5%. What is 5%? Do you remember 5%?”