SC seeks CBI response to Karti Chidambaram’s plea against lookout circular

The Supreme Court on Friday sought the CBI’s response to a plea by Karti Chidambaram, son of former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, against a lookout notice issued against him in a corruption case.

Karti Chidambaram told the apex court that he had appeared before the Central Bureau of Investigation twice and sought dismissal of the lookout circular.

Seeking the CBI’s response, a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud also asked the agency to submit the material related to Karti Chidambaram’s questioning.

Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta urged the bench not to include in its order the direction to produce the material relating to the questioning.

Karti Chidambaram told the bench that he was questioned for eight hours on 23 August and for seven hours on 28 August and was asked about 100 questions.

Seeking the dismissal of the lookout circular, he referred to an earlier Delhi High Court order that said that lookout circulars could only be issued against persons deliberately evading arrest or not appearing before the agencies.

Senior counsel Gopal Subramanium, who appeared for Karti Chidambram, told the court that the lookout circular was issued in “rarest of rare cases” and the circular against his client “seriously encroaches on (his) fundamental rights”. IANS