INX case: Order reserved on special court issue

New Delhi, May 29 (IANS) A court here on Thursday reserved its order on the issue whether the INX Media case against newly-elected parliamentarian Karti Chidambaram will be heard by the court it is now before or the special court trying cases against lawmakers.

District Judge O.P. Saini said that he will deliver order on June 2 on whether the case will be heard by the same court or will be transferred to the MP/MLA court in the Rouse Avenue court complex.

The court order came after the case was marked to it by another special court which was already hearing the matter.

Early on Wednesday morning, Special Judge Anurag Sain, who was scheduled to pass an order on plea of former INX Media director Indrani Mukerjea seeking to become approver in the case, asked the CBI to clarify whether he has jurisdiction to entertain the plea or not.

Judge Sain has sought legal opinion on this as Karti Chidamabaram, son of former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, has elected to Lok Sabha from Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga and there is a special court to deal the cases related to lawmakers.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are probing how Karti Chidambaram managed to get clearance for INX Media from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in 2007 when his father was Minister.

The probe so far showed that for the FIPB approval, INX Media directors Peter and Indrani Mukerjea met P. Chidambaram to ensure that there was no hold-up or delay in their application. The agency has supported Mukherjea's plea to become approver.