Never met Indrani: PC rebuts CBI claim

NEWDELHI: Senior Congress politician P Chidambaram on Friday denied having ever met INX Media co-founder Indrani Mukerjea, a claim the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) rebutted, insisting that there was ample evidence to show that a delegation from the broadcasting company had met him when he was finance minister.

Chidambaram’s counsel Kapil Sibal read out in court a statement from his client that said he had no recollection of meeting an INX Media delegation.

“I have to rely on the visitors’ register. Peter Mukerjea (Indrani’s husband and INX co-founder) has himself admitted in his statement that Indrani was not a part of the delegation that met the FM. It is certain that I have not met Indrani at any stage,” Sibal said.

Chidambaram is currently in judicial custody in Tihar jail in a CBI case relating to allegations of irregularities in the grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas investment to the tune of ₹305 crore in 2007, when Chidambaram was finance minister in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

Peter and Indrani Mukerjea have been charged with entering into a criminal conspiracy with P Chidambaram’s son, Karti Chidambaram, to secure clearance from FIPB for the foreign investment received by the company and evade punitive measures for not having the requisite approvals. Indrani Mukerjea told CBI in March last year that a deal of $1 million had been struck between Karti Chidambaram and the Mukerjeas to secure approval from the FIPB in favour of INX Media.

She has turned an approver against Chidambaram.

On Friday, solicitor general Tushar Mehta started his arguments opposing a bail application by Chidambaram.