Ahead of having been taken under the custodial interrogation by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the former Indian minister P Chidambaram had granted with interim relief from the Supreme court where it had shielded him from getting arrested by the Enforcement directorate for the case of money laundering that it had filed against him in 2018. 

P Chidambaram was taken into the custody by the central agency for five days of custodial interrogation after it had justified that the former minister had mere connection with the scam that was committed in INX Media case where the media group has been accused of acquiring illegal clearance from Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for receiving exorbitant overseas funds more than the board had permitted through the mediation from Chidambaram's son Karthi when Chidambaram was Union Finance minister under Manmohan Singh government in 2007.

The Central Bureau of Investigation had registered a FIR against him and his son in 2017 and had issued notices for appearing before the investigation officers thereafter. He had filed pre-arrest bail petition in Delhi High court on August 20th to protect from getting arrested by the investigative agencies which was eventually rejected by the high court further to which he appealed his anticipatory bail petition in the Supreme court and insisted the registry to list out the case as immediate hearing.

The Supreme court bench of Justice Ramana had denied his request to have urgent hearing on August 21st and had referred to the Chief justice of India where the apex court had denied the grounds of urgent hearing and had listed out the case on Friday which had lifted the gates for the investigative agencies to detain him ahead of having odd responses from the judiciary, where the team of CBI officers had stormed to Chidambaram's Delhi residence and detained him on late night Wednesday and transported to the CBI headquarters which he inaugurated in 2011 when he was the then home minister. The CBI spokesman had said that the former minister had interrogated behind the lock up in CBI's office. After producing him in Delhi CBI court, the CBI had gained the order from the court to take him into custody for five days till August 26th by citing the uncooperative and being evasive while questioning.

With that being the picture of Chidambaram's detention, the anticipatory bail petition was taken into hearning by the Supreme court bench comprised of justices Banumathi and Bopanna, where finally had adjourned the hearing of the case till August 26th and granted him with interim relief from getting arrested by the Enforcement directorate till August 26th.

While the petition was tabled for hearing, the floor had seen heated arguments between Solicitor general Tushar Mehta and Chidambaram's legal team headed by Kabil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi.

While commenting about the interim relief granted to Chidambaram, SG Tushar Mehta had said that the former minister can't be detained by the Enforcement directorate as he has already been taken into custodial by CBI for five days and the judicial system had guaranteed that no simultaneous arrests will be made against a person who already been detained. However, Supreme court doesn't intervened in CBI's custody where he will remain under the detention of CBI till August 26th.

The CBI had filed FIR in 2017 against Chidambaram while the Enforcement directorate had booked a money laundering case in connection to INX Media case in 2018.