SC asks CBI to file status report on AircelMaxis probe

NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a report detailing the status of the probe being carried out on various aspects of the AircelMaxis deal case.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also filed in a sealed cover the status report of its ongoing investigation in the money laundering case relating to the deal before a bench of Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud.

The bench deferred the hearing by three weeks on a request by additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, as attorney general Mukul Rohatgi was not available.

During the brief hearing, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy told the bench that he has received a reply from CBI stating that it was probing “all angles”, including the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance given to the deal allegedly by then finance minister P Chidambaram in 2006.

Swamy said the CBI should be asked to file a status report in the case, after which the bench asked Mehta to do the needful before the next date of hearing.

Mehta told the court that they needed two weeks to file the report after which the bench posted the matter for May 2.

Later, Swamy told reporters that he has provided all information regarding the alleged money transfer to Karti Chidambaram’s purported foreign bank accounts by beneficiaries of the deal.