A trial court in Delhi has ruled that Home Minister P Chidambaram will not be held criminally liable for the telecom scam that unfolded in India in 2008 when he was Finance Minister. Judge OP Saini rejected a petition by Subramanian Swamy to make the minister co-accused in the case. "Anybody and everybody associated with a decision in any degree cannot be roped as an accused," the verdict declared. Mr Chidambaram was at home when the judgement was delivered; he then left for a scheduled trip to Madurai. The government exhaled loudly after the verdict.