The Supreme Court on August 26, 2019, has dismissed former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's appeal against Delhi High court order denying anticipatory bail in the CBI case.
A Bench comprising of Justices Bhanumati and A.S. Bopanna said since Chidambaram has been arrested, it will not hear the petition as it has become 'infructuous'.
The Bench said that he is at liberty to seek regular bail before the trial court, adding that the trial court must consider the application for regular bail without being influenced by the observations made by the Delhi High Court.
Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Dr. A.M. Singhvi, appearing for Chidambaram, tried to convince the Bench that the petition had not become infructuous as he was arrested on August 21, 2019, while his petition was pending in the apex court.
They submitted that the investigation agency could not have arrested him when his case was listed for consideration on August 23, 2019. The Court has power to restore the status quo ante with regard to the arrest which was made against the listing of the Court, the advocates argued.
The Bench, however, rejected the submissions and ordered the petition to be dismissed.
Apart from the CBI case for alleged corruption in INX media case, the Enforcement Directorate has filed another case for alleged money laundering in the transaction. The Bench is separately considering the bail plea moved in the ED case.
INX Media Case: Timeline
