New Delhi: A Delhi court on Tuesday granted two months’ time to the CBI to obtain sanction to prosecute former Union minister P Chidambaram and other serving or former public servants in the Aircel-Maxis deal case The agency had on July 19 filed a charge sheet against the Congress leader, his son Karti, 10 individuals including public servants and six companies as accused in the case.
Special CBI Judge O P Saini today allowed the CBI’s request for grant of some time after senior advocate Sonia Mathur, representing the agency, informed the judge that sanctions are awaited. “Adjourn the matter for October 1,” the court said.
According to CBI sources, Chidambaram’s name is among the persons against whom sanction for prosecution from authorities concerned was awaited. The court also adjourned a money laundering case, which is an off-shoot of the Aircel-Maxis deal case, against Karti and others, after Mathur and advocates N K Matta and Nitesh Rana requested an adjournemt on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The ED had on July 13 filed a charge sheet against Karti and others for the alleged offence of money laundering. However, the former Union minister was not arrayed as an accused in the case. In the case filed by CBI, Mathur told the court that the agency was expecting sanctions for prosecution from authorities concerned in about four weeks.
The counsel told the court that there were a few serving public servants and some retired ones against whom the sanctions would be needed before proceeding with their prosecution in the case.
However, she did not disclose the names of accused against whom the probe agency has sought the nod to prosecute. The CBI had filed the charge sheet for the alleged offences of criminal conspiracy under the IPC, public servant taking illegal gratification, punishment for abetting this offence and public servant committing criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act. If convicted, the offences entail a maximum punishment of seven years. The agency has alleged that when foreign investment in Aircel by Malaysian telecom major Maxis was cleared by the finance ministry in March 13, 2006, a payment of Rs 26 lakh was made by Aircel to Chennai-based Advantage Strategic Consulting, officials said. It is alleged that Advantage Strategic Consulting was indirectly controlled by Karti and had raised an invoice on March 29, 2006 against which Aircel made a payment on April 1, 2006. The CBI has alleged that Chess Management Services Holding Ltd, a company in which Karti is promoter and director, also received Rs 87 lakh in several installments from an associate company of Maxis, they said. (PTI)
