The CBI on Monday informed a Delhi court that it has procured the requisite sanction from the authorities concerned to prosecute former Union minister P Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis case.
The court however extended till December 18 the protection granted to Chidambaram and his son Karti from arrest after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said it needed two weeks to get sanction against other accused in the case.
The CBI is probing alleged irregularities in grant of FIPB approval in Aircel-Maxis deal, while the ED is probing alleged money-laundering related to the deal.
Earlier this month, the Delhi court had extended protection for the Chidambaram father-son duo till 26 November.
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Terming CBI's charges as "false" and "baseless", Chidambaram had said, “The averments (by the CBI) that the applicant (Chidambaram) had usurped the power of the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs, unlawfully granted the FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board) approval to Global Communication Services Ltd, Mauritius, and had chosen not to disclose facts which are in his exclusive knowledge are denied as being false, baseless and untenable."
In its charge sheet filed earlier in the case against former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi Maran and others, the CBI alleged that Chidambaram granted Foreign Investment Promotion Board approval in March 2006 to Mauritius-based Global Communication Services Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary of Maxis.
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The Maran brothers and the other accused named in the CBI charge sheet were discharged by the special court, which said the agency had failed to produce any material against them to proceed with the trial.
The ED is also probing a separate money-laundering case in the Aircel-Maxis matter, in which Chidambaram has been questioned by the agency and currently their anticipatory bail is pending.
Here's a look at the Aircel-Maxis Case:
The Aircel Maxis controversy has its roots in the infamous 2G spectrum scam case when the Supreme Court asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate Dayanidhi Maran, the telecom minister before A Raja. Maran had to resign from the Union cabinet in April 2011.
Aircel is a telecom company owned by C Sivasankaran. Maxis is a Malaysian company owned by t Ananda Krishnan.
In 2006, Maxis acquired Aircel by buying a 74% stake. In April 2011, Sivasankaran complained to the CBI that Maran had arm-twisted him to sell his stake to Maxis.
In October 2011, the CBI filed an FIR against Maran that alleged that he received Rs 549 crore for favouring Aircel in various deals that were owned by Maxis.
The amount was allegedly received by a company owned by Dayanidhi Maran's brother, Kalanidhi Maran, who controls the Sun TV network.
The CBI FIR accuses the Maran brothers of quid pro quo for facilitating the deal for maxis.
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According to the FIR, the media company Astro -- belonging to the maxis group -- had invested around Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion) in a Sun Network venture in 2007.
Later, while probing the case, former Union Minister P Chidambaram was charged with money laundering in the Aircel Maxis case, under a section of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. In a supplementary charge sheet, the Enforcement Directorate, which investigates economic crimes, named Chidambaram as accused No 1. It named eight others, including S Bhaskaraman and four Maxis companies.
(With inputs from agencies)
