KARTI CAN TRAVEL TO UK FOR DAUGHTER’S ADMISSION: SC

NEW DELHI: Karti Chidambaram, son of Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram, received some relief on Monday after the Supreme Court gave him permission to travel to United Kingdom for 10 days in December for the admission of his daughter in a college.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra accorded the liberty to Karti after additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta did not oppose the short-term travel plan subject to certain conditions.

Mehta appeared for the Central Bureau of Investigation that has issued a lookout circular (LOC) against Karti, debarring him from travelling out of the country.

In May this year, the CBI had registered a case alleging irregularities in Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of ~305 crore in 2007 when Karti’s father was the finance minister.

Karti has contested the allegations and challenged the LOC before the Madras high court that gave him relief.

The agency has appealed against the HC order.

The apex court asked Karti to file an undertaking within three days mentioning his travel details. As per the court order, he can travel between December 1 and December 10. Therefore, his undertaking must contain an assurance that he will come back by December 10.

On his return, Karti will have to give another affidavit giving details of grant or non-grant of admission of his daughter at Selwyn College, Cambridge University.

If the undertaking is not complied with, then Karti “shall face such consequences as may be deemed fit and proper,” it said.

The order, the apex court clarified, will not be cited as a precedent before any court of law and is without any prejudice to the contentions both sides will advance in future. It was not even an opinion on the merits of the LOC against Karti.