Chidambaram gets bail, walks out of Tihar prison after 106 days
‘After 106 days, not a single charge framed against me’
New Delhi, Dec 4: After 106 days in custody, former Union finance minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday night walked out of Tihar jail hours after the Supreme Court granted him bail in a money laundering case linked to the INX Media with some conditions like restraining the senior Congress leader from talking to the media about the case.
Chidambaram, 74, stepped out of Gate no 3 of the prison at 8.10 pm to a rapturous welcome by hundreds of Congress supporters. His son Karti was on hand to receive the Congress veteran.
Dressed in his trademark long-sleeved white shirt and dhoti, the former union minister, whose custody entered the 106th day on Wednesday with most of the time spent behind bars, was surrounded by a posse of newsmen and photographers before he was taken in a car to his Jor Bagh home.
Asked to comment on his release, a calm and composed Chidambaram, a Rajya Sabha MP, said he cannot comment on the case and will obey the Supreme Court order but hastened to forcefully add that not a single charge has been framed against him.
"The fact is that after 106 days of pre-trial incarceration there is not a single charge framed against me as I speak now," said Chidambaram, who is expected to attend the Rajya Sabha proceedings on Thursday. The Congress leader said he will talk more on Thursday.
Chidambaram has been in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI), the Enforcement Directorate(ED) and in Tihar jail since his dramatic arrest by the CBI sleuths from his Jor Bagh home in the national capital on the night of August 21. While the CBi is probing the corruption case linked to the INX Media, the ED is investigating the money laundering case.
"I am very happy that my father is coming home. It has been a long wait, it has been an unwanted incarceration. I am very grateful that the Supreme Court has given him bail," Karti told reporters.
The relief for Chidambaram triggered a political slugfest with the Congress welcoming it as truth prevailing at last and that his incarceration was "vengeful and vindictive" while the BJP derided the party for "celebrating corruption". The BJP also sarcastically said finally Chidambaram too joins the long list of OOBC(Out On Bail Club)
Allowing Chidambaram's plea for bail, the apex court also ordered that he can't leave the country without its permission and should neither try to influence witnesses nor tamper with evidence.
Making clear its order would not be construed to be the findings on merits of the case, the court said his alleged complicity would be examined during the trial.
Setting aside the Delhi High Court's November 15 verdict denying the former union minister bail, a three-judge bench, headed by Justice R Banumathi, granted the relief to him on a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh with two sureties of the like amount.
The bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy, restrained Chidambaram from giving any press interview or making any statements with regard to the case.
The top court, which observed that economic offences are grave in nature, said "grant of bail is rule and refusal is exception".
It said the ED's claim that he can tamper with evidence cannot be accepted on "face value" as he is neither in political power nor holds any post in the government.
Chidambaram would have to join further investigations if asked by the probe agency, it added.
Chidambaram's wife Nalini, who is a senior lawyer, said she was happy that he got the bail.
The CBI registered its case on May 15, 2017, alleging irregularities in a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to the INX Media group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007 during Chidambaram's tenure as finance minister. The ED lodged a money laundering case after that.
News that its senior leader would finally be returning home led to relief in the Congress camp but also triggered a political row with the BJP.
"Truth finally prevails #SatyamevaJayate," the party tweeted from its official handle.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said Chidambaram's incarceration was "vengeful and vindictive".
"I'm glad that the SC has granted him bail. I'm confident that he will be able to prove his innocence in a fair trial," Gandhi said in a tweet.
Chidambaram's lawyer and Congress colleague Abhishek Manu Singhvi described the Supreme Court ruling as "excellent light after a rather long tunnel". He termed the order "balanced", "nuanced" and "comprehensive" and in favour of human rights and balanced jurisprudence.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor was more circumspect and said "justice delayed is justice denied". The bail should have been granted much earlier, he said.
Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged that the government hatched a "big conspiracy" against the former finance minister as he had been its sharp critic.
The BJP, however, was unsparing in its criticism of the opposition party and brought in leaders such as Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in its response.
"Classic case of @INCIndia 'Celebrating Corruption'!!
"So finally Chidambaram too joins the long list of OOBC(Out On Bail Club) in the Congress ..He joins the coveted Club,some members of which are:1)Sonia Gandhi 2)Rahul Gandhi 3)Robert Vadra 4)Motilal Vohra 5)Bhupinder Hooda 6)Sashi Tharoor Etc Etc," BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said on Twitter.
The apex court said it was initially not inclined to open the sealed cover material placed before it by the ED. But since the high court had perused the material, it was imperative for the top court to go through the documents, it added.
After pronouncing the verdict, the court directed its registry to return the sealed cover material back to the ED.
Mr P Chidambaram’s 106 day incarceration was vengeful & vindictive. I'm glad that the SC has granted him bail. I'm confident that he will be able to prove his innocence in a fair trial.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 4, 2019
So finally Chidambaram too joins the long list of “OOBC(Out On Bail Club)” in the Congress ..He joins the coveted Club,some members of which are:
— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) December 4, 2019
1)Sonia Gandhi
2)Rahul Gandhi
3)Robert Vadra
4)Motilal Vohra
5)Bhupinder Hooda
6)Sashi Tharoor
Etc Etc https://t.co/VPVxcqzv4H
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Maldivian military diver dead while searching for bodies of four Italian divers
Colombo (AP): A Maldivian military diver died Saturday while searching for the bodies of four Italian divers believed to be deep inside an underwater cave.
The group of five Italian divers is believed to have died while exploring a cave at a depth of about 50 metres in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday, according to Italy's Foreign Ministry. The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 30 metres.
Maldives Presidential Spokesman Mohammed Hussain Shareef said that Mohamed Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian National Defence Force, died of underwater decompression sickness after being transferred to a hospital in the capital.
“The death goes to show the difficulty of the mission,” he said.
Earlier, Shareef said the searchers had prepared a plan based on their progress exploring the cave on Friday. Mahudhee was part of the group that briefed Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu on the rescue plan when he visited the search site on Friday.
Rough weather has repeatedly hampered rescue efforts.
The Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said everything possible would be done to bring the victims home. His ministry stated it was coordinating with Divers Alert Network, a specialist diving organisation, to support recovery operations and the repatriation of the bodies. The cause of the deaths remains under investigation.
The victims have been identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, according to the Maldivian government.
Benedetti's body was recovered on Thursday.
Montefalcone and Oddenino were in the Maldives on an official scientific mission to monitor marine environments and study the effects of climate change on tropical biodiversity, the University of Genoa said in a statement Friday. However, the scuba diving activity during which the deadly accident occurred was not part of the planned research and was “undertaken privately,” it said.
The statement also said the two other victims — student Sommacal and recent graduate Gualtieri — were not involved in the scientific mission.
Cave diving is a highly technical and dangerous activity that requires specialised training, equipment and strict safety protocols. Risks increase sharply in environments where divers cannot head straight up and at depth, particularly when conditions are poor.
Experts say it's easy to become disoriented or lost inside caves, particularly as sediment clouds can sharply reduce visibility.
Diving at 50 metres also exceeds the maximum depth recommended for recreational divers by most major established scuba certifying agencies, with depths beyond 40 metres considered technical diving and requiring specialised training and equipment.
Shareef said Benedetti's body was found near the mouth of the cave and authorities believed the remaining four had entered the cave.
Two Italians, a deep-sea rescue expert and a cave diving expert, are expected to join the recovery effort, Shareef said.
Italian officials said that around 20 other Italians on the same expedition aboard the vessel “Duke of York” were safe. Italy's embassy in Colombo was providing assistance to those onboard and had contacted the Red Crescent, which offered to deploy volunteers to help provide psychological aid.
The Maldives tourism ministry said it has suspended the operating license of the “Duke of York” pending an investigation.
The Italian foreign ministry said the cave is divided into three large chambers connected by narrow passages. Recovery teams explored two of the three chambers on Friday, but the search was limited due to considerations over oxygen and decompression.
On Saturday, they will explore the third chamber, the ministry added.
Italian officials and the honourary consul are in contact with the victims' families to provide assistance.
