Chinese Visa: Court reserves order on cognisance in Karti Chidambaram's money laundering case for March 16

New Delhi, Feb 26: A Delhi court on Monday reserved its order on whether to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) charge sheet filed against Congress MP Karti Chidambaram and others in a money laundering case linked to the Chinese Visa issue.

Special Judge MK Nagpal of Rouse Avenue Court recorded submissions from the financial probe agency's counsel. Now the matter will come up for pronouncement of order on March 16.

Chidambaram had earlier moved an anticipatory bail application in the Delhi High Court, wherein, Assistant Solicitor General, SV Raju, representing the ED, had assured the court orally that no coercive action would be taken until the matter is pending.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Chidambaram, had argued against the allegations, stressing the absence of material evidence implicating the accused.

Sibal had contended that no money laundering case could be established without evidence of monetary transactions involving Chidambaram.

He had further mentioned the temporal gap between the alleged transaction in 2011 and the case registration in 2022.

In response, SV Raju had countered Sibal's arguments, saying that the bail application was premature given the absence of substantial evidence.

Raju had said that the application was premature as no summons had been issued, only an Enforcement Case Information Report had been registered.