Former Union minister P Chidambaram's son Karti was today granted relief by the Madras High Court which stayed a "look out circular" (LOC) issued against him under the Passport Act over a corruption case filed by the CBI. The LOC was stayed by Justice M Duraiswamy who passed the order after hearing the arguments of counsels representing Chidambaram and the Centre.
While Karti was represented by senior counsel Gopal Subramanian and Satish Parasaran, Additional Solicitor-General of India G Rajagopalan argued on behalf of the government. The Centre has been directed by the court to file a counter-affidavit by September 4.
Karti had moved court on August 4 for quashing of the LOC, alleging that it was part of the central government's "political vendetta". He claimed that the LOC was issued on July 18 though he had responded to the summonses issued by the CBI and that it was done to cause "embarrassment" to him and to throttle the voice of his father, "a leading member of the opposition".
Karti had said he was scheduled to visit the UK from August 16 for two weeks and that if the LOC was not recalled, his travel plans would be jeopardised.
The case related to alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds when his father was the Finance Minister in 2007.
