Congress MP Karti Chidambaram has moved the Delhi High Court against the trial court order framing corruption and conspiracy charges in the Chinese visa case. He claims there is no evidence of bribe, demand, or conspiracy, and the High Court will hear the matter on January 19.
New Delhi: Congress MP Karti Chidambaram has approached the Delhi High Court challenging the trial court’s order that framed corruption and criminal conspiracy charges against him in the alleged Chinese visa scam case being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The petition was listed before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, and the High Court has scheduled the matter for hearing on January 19.
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The case relates to alleged irregularities in facilitating visas for Chinese nationals in 2011, when Karti Chidambaram’s father, P Chidambaram, was serving as the Union Home Minister. In October 2024, after a probe that lasted nearly two years, the CBI filed a chargesheet against Karti Chidambaram and several others.
Earlier, on December 23, 2025, a trial court had ordered framing of charges for criminal conspiracy and corruption against Karti Chidambaram and six other accused persons.
The trial court observed that there was sufficient material on record to proceed against him.
It held that “prima facie” there was enough evidence to frame charges against Karti Chidambaram for criminal conspiracy under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code and for offences under Sections 8 and 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which deal with taking illegal gratification to influence public servants.
In his plea before the High Court, the Lok Sabha MP from Sivaganga has strongly questioned the trial court’s decision. He argued that the lower court failed to properly examine the material placed on record and ignored documents, witness statements, and evidence that clearly showed that no offence was made out against him.
The petition states that there was no bribe, no conspiracy, and no illegal act as claimed by the investigating agency. It further argues that the basic requirements to prove corruption were not met in the present case.
“There must be evidence of money or the equivalent being demanded by the accused, payment thereof and acceptance by the accused. The Ld. (Learned) Trial Court has incorrectly observed that the Petitioner demanded Rs 50 Lacs for the work. There is not even an allegation, let alone evidence (direct or circumstantial) of any demand being made by the Petitioner,”
the plea said.
Karti Chidambaram has also challenged the prosecution’s claim regarding visa facilitation. According to him, the practice of re-using visas already existed and was part of routine administrative procedures, and there was no need for any criminal conspiracy for such an administrative clarification.
“The Ld. Trial Court failed to appreciate that ‘re-use’ of visas was already an existing practice, and there was no requirement for any conspiracy to receive a routine administrative clarification,”
the petition added.
The CBI case arises from a First Information Report registered in 2022, following a preliminary inquiry. According to the agency, Talwandi Sabo Power Limited, a Punjab-based power company, was setting up a 1980 MW thermal power plant. The project work had been outsourced to the Chinese company Shandong Electric Power Construction Corp.
The project was allegedly delayed, and the company was facing the risk of heavy penalties. The CBI has claimed that in order to speed up the work, visas for Chinese workers were facilitated through illegal means.
According to the FIR and chargesheet, a senior executive of TSPL allegedly approached Karti Chidambaram through his “close associate/front man” S Bhaskararaman. The agency has alleged that bribes were routed through Mumbai-based Bell Tools to influence the visa process.
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Apart from Karti Chidambaram, the CBI has named S Bhaskararaman, TSPL, Bell Tools, and other individuals as accused in the case. TSPL is stated to be a subsidiary of Vedanta.
With the matter now coming up before the Delhi High Court, the court will examine whether the trial court was correct in framing charges or whether the case against Karti Chidambaram deserves to be quashed at this stage.
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