Karti Chidambaram withdraws anticipatory bail plea after CBI says no impending arrest in Diageo case

Sivaganga Member of Parliament (MP) and Congress leader Karti Chidambaram on Friday did not press his anticipatory bail plea filed before a Delhi court in connection with the Diageo bribery case after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told the Court that there is no impending arrest of Chidambaram at this stage..The Court disposed of the plea but nevertheless asked the CBI to give Karti Chidambaram three days notice in advance if it wished to arrest the Congress leader in connection with the case.Chidambaram was asked to cooperate with the probe. "The application stands disposed of as not pressed. However, the Investigating Agency (CBI) shall give three days written notice prior to the Applicant in case his arrest is required after he joins the investigation of the case upon return to the country on 12.01.2025. The Applicant shall join the investigation of the case upon his return to the country and cooperate in the process of investigation, as and when so required in accordance with law," the Court directed.The case was registered over allegedly suspicious transactions involving whiskey importer, Diageo Scotland, UK and Sequoia Capital.Chidambaram has been accused of getting bribes from Diageo in exchange for lifting a ban on the sale of duty-free liquor in 2005 when his father, P Chidambaram was the Union Finance Minister. The CBI has claimed that $15,000 USD was paid by Diageo to an entity "controlled by Karti P Chidambaram", namely Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt. Ltd., as part of this deal.According to the CBI, this payment was made under a fake contract and under the guise of it being consultancy charges.The CBI has also claimed that certain suspicious transactions took place in 2008-2010, involving Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt. Ltd., around the time when Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval concerning investments by an entity called M/s Sequoia Capital was granted..The sitting MP moved the trial court seeking anticipatory bail in the matter. Chidambaram, who is presently abroad, moved the court on apprehensions that he may be arrested by the CBI as soon as he returns to India on January 12.He recounted that he was similarly detained by the CBI in 2018 when he returned to India after travelling abroad.He argued that the possibility that he may be similarly detained in a malicious manner cannot be ruled out in this case. Therefore, he urged the court to grant him anticipatory bail to prevent such detention.He also denied the allegations against him, asserting that they were part of political vendetta and questioned the delay with which the case was registered since the allegations pertain to the years 2004-2010..However, the plea was not pressed after the Court noted that the CBI's submission that the plea was premature since the agency is yet to issue any notice under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) seeking his appearance.As per the provision, police/ investigating agency must issue a notice to a person they believe has committed a cognizable offence to appear before it.The Court was told that, therefore, there need not be any apprehension regarding an impending arrest.No Look Out Circular (LOC) has been issued against Karti Chidambaram either, the CBI added.The Court recorded these submissions and disposed of the anticipatory bail plea by directing the CBI to give three days of notice, if it wished to arrest Karti Chidambaram. Chidambaram, who is presently abroad, was also directed to cooperate with the investigation once he returns to India..Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, assisted by advocates Arshdeep Singh, Akshat Gupta, Sheezan Hashmi, Harsh Srivastava and Shrey Nautiyal represented Karti Chidambaram.Senior Public Prosecutor Ashutosh Tripathi and Public Prosecutor Shekhar Ghelot represented the CBI.