Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who is in CBI custody in the INX Media case, on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that the probe agency wanted his arrest just to “humiliate” him. He asked how he can be called a “kingpin” for an alleged offence with retrospective effect.
As the top court extended till today the interim protection from arrest granted to Mr Chidambaram on August 23 in the alleged money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate, Mr Chidambaram’s family alleged that the government’s motive was to “demonise and humiliate” him.
“We challenge the government to produce a shred of evidence in support of one undisclosed bank account, one undisclosed property or one shell company anywhere in the world,” the former Union Minister’s son Karti Chidambaram said in a statement on Twitter. Karti Chidambaram is also an accused in the INX Media case and is out on bail.
Senior advocate AM Singhvi, appearing for Mr Chidambaram, said the former Union Minister was not evasive during his questioning and has fully cooperated in the probe. “You (Enforcement Directorate) want to arrest me, but for what reason? The answer is – to humiliate me, to humiliate me and to humiliate me, minute by minute and hour by hour,” he said, representing his client. He said the probe agency filed the case in 2017, where the alleged offences alleged are of the period 2007-2008.
Mr Chidambaram asked the top court to tell the probe agency to show transcripts of his questioning in the alleged money laundering case
