Mamata Banerjee said the way P Chidambaram's matter is being handled is very depressing.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today criticised the way in which the investigative agencies handled the arrest former finance minister P Chidambaram last evening. The senior Congress leader was arrested from his Delhi home last evening by the Central Bureau of Investigation after high drama, with some officers scaling the walls to gain entry.

"The way his matter is being handled, that is very depressing, that is very sad and bad also," Ms Banerjee told journalists at Digha, a seaside resort near Kolkata. "Sometimes the process is incorrect. I'm not talking of the legality of the matter... Chidambaram is a senior politician, former finance and home minister of the country," she added.

Investigative agencies say the former finance minister facilitated a huge infusion of foreign funds into a television company, INX Media, in 2007 under the influence of his son Karti Chidambaram, who received kickbacks.

The 73-year-old was arrested after he failed to get any reprieve from the courts. On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court refused him anticipatory bail, saying prima facie, he was the "kingpin" in the case.

His efforts to get immediate reprieve from the Supreme Court also failed. The court will hear the case on Friday.