Karti can’t travel abroad without joining CBI inquiry: SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed an order of the Madras high court allowing Karti Chidambaram, the son of former finance minister P. Chidambaram, to go abroad on August 16, and made it clear that he will have to appear before the CBI for an investigation.

A Bench of Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud told senior counsel Gopal Subramanium appearing for Mr Karti Chidambaram, “We will not allow you to travel abroad till you cooperate in the investigation.”

The counsel said he was prepared to give an undertaking that Mr Karti Chidambaram would appear before the CBI, and that he may be permitted to travel on August 16. He requested the court not to stay the HC order.

However, the CJI said, “We have to stay this order. We have had the bitter experience of allowing people to go abroad and they never come back. You (Karti) first show us your bonafide by going to the investigating officer.” The CJI said: “Our business is only one. You must go for the investigation. How will it be if people of this country do not respond to investigations against them? It is up to Mr Karti Chidambaram to decide whether he wanted to appear now in two or days or wait for the Madras HC’s decision on his pending petition for quashing of the investigation. But our little thing is that you can’t, as of now, leave the country till you participate in the investigation.”

The CBI registered an FIR against Mr Karti and others on May 15, 2017, for alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to INX Media for receiving overseas funds in 2007 when Mr Karti Chidambaram’s father was Union finance minister. He did not appear before the CBI in response to summons issued on June 15 and July 4, but instead moved the Madras HC to quash the FIR. On June 16, the CBI issued ‘look-out circular’ to prevent him from leaving India.

On August 10, the high court, stayed the LOC and allowed him to go abroad on and asked to return on August 31. The CBI filed the appeal against the order to prevent Mr Karti Chidambaram from going abroad as scheduled.

The apex court had further asked the Madras high court to decide on his plea, seeking to quash the FIR in consonance with law.

The CJI told Mr Subramanium that Mr Karti Chidambaram would have to appear before the CBI for an interrogation.

The Madras high court on August 10 stayed the ‘lookout circulars’ issued against Mr Karti Chidambaram and four others by the Centre, holding that they were prima facie “unwarranted”. Besides Mr Karti Chidambaram, his associates CBN Reddy, Ravi Viswanathan, Mohanan Rajesh and S. Bhaskararaman had also got the interim relief.

Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for CBI, said the intent and language of the LOC was not to detain or arrest Mr. Karti as it was only a measure to ensure that he did not leave the country when the investigation into a case involving “serious offences” was going on.

Mr. Subramanium said “The question you have to consider here is when do you really interfere with the right of a citizen to travel. It is only when somebody is a fugitive. My client was sitting in the same courtroom on July 21 as the investigating officer during the case hearing. He has his father here. He has a daughter. His family is here.”

The CJI told the counsel “We are not on the issue whether he is guilty or not. We are on a very small issue. Have you participated and co-operated with the investigating officer? The answer is ‘no’. And what is wrong with an LOC on the next day? The CBI is conducting an investigation. They do not want to take the chances of a man becoming a fugitive. The LOC does not say they will arrest you. They just do not want you to travel out of the country.” The Bench issued notice to Mr. Karti Chidambaram on CBI’s appeal against the HC order and sought his response by Friday, August 18 sand adjourned the case till then.