The Supreme Court today ordered CBI custody for former Union Minister P Chidambaram today after he told the court that he should not be sent to Delhi's Tihar Jail as he is 74 and should be protected. He should be placed under house arrest, said Kapil Sibal, representing Mr Chidambaram, who has spent 11 days in CBI custody since his arrest on August 21.
In CBI custody, Mr Chidambaram has been put up in a "suite" at the guest-house floor of the CBI headquarters in Delhi. The top court said the former Finance Minister, arrested by the CBI in a corruption case, should apply for regular bail before the competent court.
Mr Chidambaram has been accused of facilitating a huge infusion of foreign funds into the media company INX Media in 2007, when he was Finance Minister, at the instance of his son Karti Chidambaram, who allegedly received kickbacks for his role. Karti Chidambaram -- also named in the case -- is out on bail. P Chidambaram was arrested amid high drama from his home last week by CBI officials who scaled the walls of his house to get in. Since then, he has been in the agency's custody.
The CBI had said that Mr Chidambaram was being "evasive and non-cooperative" and his custody must be extended so that he can be confronted with documents and the other accused in the case.
