The Delhi High Court has directed the Special Court to defer the arguments on charge framing in two money laundering cases involving Congress MP Karti Chidambaram.
This move comes as the court stressed the importance of deciding the status of the predicate offenses before moving forward under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The court’s interim order, passed by Justice Ravinder Dudeja on April 9, underlined that the framing of charges in money laundering cases cannot proceed independently if the charges in the predicate offenses are still undecided.
Justice Dudeja pointed out that if Karti Chidambaram is discharged from the underlying scheduled offenses, it would directly impact the PMLA cases, potentially making the continuation of proceedings unsustainable.
The High Court's decision was issued after Karti Chidambaram filed a plea seeking the deferment of arguments in the Aircel-Maxis deal and the Chinese Visa scam cases.
Both cases are being prosecuted by the Enforcement Directorate and stem from investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation into alleged corruption and financial irregularities.
In his plea, Karti challenged the trial court's order dated March 28, which had denied his request to delay the PMLA proceedings.
His legal team, led by Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra and Advocate Arshdeep Singh Khurana, argued that until the question of his involvement in the predicate offenses is resolved, the PMLA charges should not proceed.
They highlighted a core legal principle — that proceedings under the money laundering law depend on the confirmation of a scheduled offense and the existence of criminal proceeds generated from it.
The court seemed to agree with this reasoning, acknowledging that the outcome of the predicate offenses would significantly shape the trajectory of the money laundering case.
The High Court, therefore, ruled that the Special Court should fix a date for charge arguments only after the date indicated by the High Court itself, allowing time for the predicate offense issue to be settled.
On the other side, the Enforcement Directorate, represented by advocate Zoheb Hossain, maintained its stand in continuing with the proceedings. However, Justice Dudeja emphasized the need for further deliberation and adjourned the matter for the next hearing, which is scheduled for April 9, 2025.
In the Aircel-Maxis case, the Enforcement Directorate initiated proceedings against Karti Chidambaram and others under the PMLA.
These actions were based on an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), which followed a CBI FIR for alleged violations under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The Chinese Visa scam case involves accusations that ₹50 lakh was paid as a bribe to Karti Chidambaram and his associate, S. Bhaskararaman, by a senior executive of Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd.
The alleged payment was linked to the facilitation of Chinese visas for company employees involved in setting up a power project in Punjab.
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