Visa scam: ED opposes Karti's anticipatory bail plea in HC, says no apprehension of arrest

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday opposed in the Delhi High Court the anticipatory bail plea of Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram in the alleged Chinese visa scam case, saying he cannot file the application on a figment of imagination which does not show any genuine apprehension of his arrest.

The ED said the application is premature as the investigation has not yet begun in the matter and even Karti has not been summoned.

Justice Poonam A Bamba, who heard the matter for nearly three hours, reserved the order on Karti's plea.

Karti had approached the high court after his anticipatory bail plea and that of two others were dismissed by the trial court on June 3, on the ground that the offence was of a very serious nature.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Karti, said there were no proceeds of crime and he was not a flight risk and also ready to cooperate in the investigation.

He said the incident relates to 2011 and the CBI and ED registered the FIR and Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) on May 15 and May 25 respectively.

The senior counsel said the allegation in the FIR was that a cheque of Rs 50 lakh was converted into cash and was given to chartered accountant S Bhaskaraman but there was no document on record to show it.

He also contended that there was no allegation that any money was paid to Karti or that Bhaskaraman had paid the whole amount to him and added that no overt act was attributed to Karti and there was no allegation that he induced or met any public servant.

''There is no allegation of conspiracy showing as to how Section 120B of IPC can be attracted but I will argue that matter before the CBI court,'' Sibal said.

He also pointed out certain errors in the trial court's order dismissing Karti's anticipatory bail plea and said the special judge's conclusion was ex-facie wrong.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju, appearing for the ED, opposed the plea and argued that the matter is at a nascent stage and the agency has only registered an ECIR and that there was no apprehension of the arrest.

''I was wondering if it was an anticipatory bail plea or a challenge to the trial court order. Today there is no challenge to the trial court order and he has to make out an independent case for anticipatory bail. The application is pre mature and there is no apprehension of arrest,'' he contended.

He further said, “the investigation has not started in the case. He cannot file the anticipatory bail plea on a figment of imagination which does not show any apprehension. There has to be a genuine apprehension of arrest which could be tested on the facts. It cannot be based on fancies of the applicant.” The ASG said the investigation is at a very nascent stage and if anticipatory bail is granted at this stage, it will lead to a situation where protection is granted to an accused only because the agency could not collect relevant material because of time factor.

Therefore, the stage is crucial here, he said, adding that it could be a case of Rs 50 lakh bribe and it could also be Rs 100 crore, so the investigation will disclose what it is.

''It is very smart move to scuttle the investigation. Because if you apply for anticipatory bail at an initial stage, material is not collected by the agency and you could get the relief,'' he contended.

On the allegation that the approval of the then Union home secretary and Union home minister for re-use of project visas was granted in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy, Sibal contended that while the agency has named the then Home Minister, it has not named the then home secretary.

''That is their case. It is to be approved by the home secretary. That name they will not reveal because the then home secretary is a cabinet minister,'' he said.

He added that it was a mala fide ECIR registered by the ED, an abuse of process of law and that they were targeting Karti and his father.

''If there was no hurry, why did they lodge the ECIR 10 days after the CBI FIR? They say that they have not done any investigation then how did they lodge the ECIR? What else can be reasonable apprehension,'' he asked. While denying anticipatory bail to Karti, the trial court had also vacated the interim protection from arrest granted to the accused persons during the pendency of the anticipatory bail application.

It had directed them to join the probe as and when they are called upon by the investigating officer.

ED has registered the money laundering case against Karti and others in the alleged scam pertaining to the issuance of a visa to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011 when his father P Chidambaram was the home minister.

ED had said that the actual magnitude or volume of the processed or laundered amount of money in the case was yet to be established during the investigation and the bribe amount of Rs 50 lakh of the CBl case cannot be taken or considered as the basis of the present case. The agency has registered its case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) taking cognisance of a recent first information report by the CBI in the same case.