The Supreme Court on Monday withdrew the earlier order granting former finance minister P. Chidambaram interim relief in the INX Media case and said that court will hear his plea on Tuesday itself.
The apex court had extended the Congress leader's CBI custody to three more days and the petition was set to be heard on Thursday after ordering that Chidambaram may not be sent to Tihar Jail. However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta urged the court to withdraw the interim order and hear Chidambaram's case on Tuesday.
The CBI will seek custody of Chidambaram for one more day.
Earlier, Kapil Sibal, appearing for Chidambaram, had argued that interim bail be provided to the senior Congress leader and that it was humiliating to treat him in this manner.
“There must be some protection to Chidambaram. He is 74 years old. Let him be put under house arrest and not sent to Tihar Jail,” Kapil Sibal said. The court, however, said that house arrests are political prisoners.
Chidambaram was arrested on August 21 in the INX Media case and has been in CBI custody since.
The probe agency is investigating the roles of Chidambaram and Karti Chidambaram in the case, in which foreign funds were facilitated into INX Media company in 2007 when the former was finance minister.
