Special Judge O P Saini took the application on record and issued notice to the agency, seeking its response by October 8
P Chidambaram
A Delhi court today sought response from the CBI on a plea of former Union Minister P Chidambaram who accused the agency of leaking parts of the charge sheet in the Aircel-Maxis case, in which he is an accused, to the media "to sensationalise" the issue and "make mockery of judicial process".
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Special Judge O P Saini took the application on record and issued notice to the agency, seeking its response by October 8. In his application, the Congress leader alleged that the CBI was not interested in a fair trial in the court of law and only wanted trial by the media. The application, moved by advocates P K Dubey and Arshdeep Singh, said that the cognizance of the charge sheet has not yet been taken by the court and the copies have not been supplied to any of the accused, including Chidambaram.
However, one of the newspapers has published articles regarding the purported contents of the final reports, it alleged. "Since this court is yet to take cognisance of the charge sheet, it appears that the CBI has clandestinely provided a copy of the same to the newspaper which is publishing the same in instalments only to sensationalise the issue and prejudice the accused named therein even before cognisance is taken by this court.
"In the view of the above, it is clear that the CBI is not interested in a fair trial in a court of law and only wants a trial by media, which is causing prejudice to the rights of the accused persons, including the appellant herein," the application said. It added that the "CBI is making a mockery of the judicial process resulting in complete travesty of justice."
"Under these circumstances, the applicant prays that the court may be pleased to take on record the facts and documents mentioned in the instant application. The applicant is not seeking any orders and this court may pass suitable order(s) as may be deemed fit and necessary in the interest of justice," the application said.
Earlier in a series of tweets, the former finance minister said it was the now-defunct Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) that used to decide if a proposal should come within the competence of the finance minister. "FIPB put up the proposal to me and I approved it along with 20 other proposals," he tweeted. In another tweet, he said, "CBI leaks its charge sheet to one of the newspapers because it wants a trial by the media. Fortunately, under our legal system, trial can take place only in a court of law."
Chidambaram and his son were named in the charge sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the case on July 19. The CBI is probing how Chidambaram, who was the Union finance minister in 2006, granted a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval to a foreign firm, when only the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) was empowered to do it.
The senior Congress leader's role has come under the scanner of investigating agencies in the Rs 3,500-crore Aircel-Maxis deal and the INX Media case involving Rs 305 crore.
Also Read: ED Questions P Chidambaram In Aircel-Maxis PMLA Case
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