With having been trapped under the nets of the Central Investigative agencies, the Supreme court had today granted conditional bail for former Indian Finance minister P Chidambaram from the case that was registered against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in which he has been lodged in Tihar prison complex since September 5th. However, the apex court's directive had implied that Chidambaram will continue his Tihar imprisonment as he has been locked under the investigations of Enforcement Directorate for the alleged money laundering case that was filed against him last year with the connection to INX Media case.

The final days of the month of August had presented the former minister with odd and unpleasant scenes as the investigative grip has been strongly webbed against him by both of the investigative agencies for his suspicious involvement in providing clearance for INX Media to acquire exorbitant overseas funds while he was serving as India's finance minister during the first term of UPA government in 2007.

On August 21st 2019, after his pre-arrest bail was rejected by the Delhi high court, the special team of CBI had detained him under their custody for unleashing interrogations on INX Media case and he was then produced in CBI special court in Delhi after the special team had concluded their custody following which the Solicitor General had asked the special court to remand Chidambaram under judicial custody by citing the seriousness of the crime. By abiding with the arguments of CBI, the special court on September 5th 2019, had ordered the investigative agency to lodge him in Tihar prison for further investigations.

He has been in Tihar jail complex since then where his bail petition was rejected by the Delhi High court on September 30th after which he had appealed in the Supreme court for acquiring bail where his bail petition was taken to the hearing by the apex court bench headed by Justice Banumathi. On hearing his bail petition on October 18th, the apex court bench had adjourned the judgement for October 22nd. As dated, his petition was tabled today for the verdict and after the hearing, the apex court bench had granted conditional bail for Chidambaram in CBI case and through the judgement, the bench had directed Chidambaram to appear before the CBI team and to cooperate for the investigations and banned him from leaving the country. He was further directed to furnish the bond for Rs 1 lakh.

However, it has been reported that despite of having been awarded with conditional bail, he will remain in Tihar custody under the money laundering case that was filed by Enforcement Directorate last year with the connection to INX Media case in which he was taken into custody last week that had added his term of imprisonment by keeping the possibilities of acquittal far away from his reach.

Chidambaram has been accused with suspicious involvement of giving his consent to INX Media towards acquiring exorbitant overseas funds than what was prescribed and approved for the company by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) through the mediation of his son Karti when Chidambaram was Indian finance minister in 2007. It was reported that INX Media had received about Rs 305 crores with the licence to receive only Rs 4 crores as foreign investments that was later exposed with the alleged involvement of Chidambarams where Karti had mediated with INX Media case while the then Finance minister Chidambaram had used his office to breach his authority towards signing the approval for INX Media to acquire foreign funds in which the Central Bureau of Investigation had filed a case against Chidambaram in 2017 while Enforcement directorate had booked money laundering case against him in 2018 that had led both of the investigative agencies to flag their extensive investigations against Chidambaram further to which he has been detained and locked up in 7th block of Tihar jail, that has the inmates of economical crimes.

Also read : https://thenewstuff.in/chidambaram-trapped-under-tightening-hands-investigations