New Delhi: On Tuesday, a Delhi court allotted time till December 2 to the CBI and ED to get a report on Letters Rogatory from the UK and Singapore in association with their in-progress probe in the Aircel-Maxis case against ex-Union Minister P. Chidambaram and his son Karti.
Special Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar permitted the request for additional time after Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, showing up for the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, educated that the LRs have been sent to the countries yet no answer has yet been received.
The issue, which is at the phase of taking cognizance, is adjourned for December 2nd.
Letters Rogatory is a formal communication recorded in writing sent by the Court in which action is pending to a foreign court asking judicial assistant. The highly common remedies sought by letters rogatory are the service of process and taking of evidence.
The court had, prior, allotted three months to the agencies to acquire a report on LRs and adjourned the issue till November 3. On Tuesday, the Additional Solicitor General had educated the court that responses are still awaited, and a reminder has been given to both the nations to expedite the report.
Sanjay Jain told the court that ED had sent three reminders dated – September 17, October 12 and October 30 to Singapore to expeditiously execute the LR and on October 12, October 19 and October 30 to the UK for the same reason and that their responses are awaited.
“Our officers are very actively and rigorously following it up. So, the request to your honour is to keep the matter after three weeks,” the Additional Solicitor General requested the court, which was therefore permitted, and the issue was adjourned.
The case relates to alleged irregularities in the grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board permission in the Aircel-Maxis bargain. The permission was granted in 2006 when P. Chidambaram was the Union Finance Minister.
As indicated by rules and the foreign direct investment policy in force around then, Chidambaram was allegedly enabled to offer permission to proposals including foreign investment just up to Rs. 600 crores.
The CBI and the ED had claimed that Chidambaram, as a finance minister had granted permission to the deal past his ability profiting certain people and got kickbacks.
