Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, who represents P. Chidambaram in the Supreme Court in the INX Media corruption case, told the top court on Friday that there was no justification to keep the former Union minister in jail.
While in custody, Chidambaram has lost more than 4 kg of weight, Sibal said adding that his client had not tried to influence anybody.
Given the onset of winter and fear of dengue, there is no justification to keep Chidambaram in jail, he said.
Sibal dismissed the arguments of the Central Bureau of Investigation that the Congress leader poses a flight risk.
“Chidambaram's passport is impounded, there is a lookout notice against him and he has never applied for travel. So where is the question of flight risk? How can he run away?,” he asked.
Meanwhile, the CBI told the apex court that 15 accused, including Chidambaram, his son Karti and some companies, have been chargesheeted in the INX Media case.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI and opposing Chidambaram's bail plea, told the court that offence of forgery has also been made out in the probe in the case against the former minister.
The agency also told the court that further probe in the INX Media corruption case is going on and response on Letters Rogatory (LRs) to Singapore and Mauritius awaited.
