Supreme Court Orders Refund of Rs 1 Crore Deposited for Foreign Travel; Relief for MP Karti P Chidambaram

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Today, On 7th August, The Supreme Court has ordered the release of Rs 1 crore deposited by MP Karti P Chidambaram in 2022 as a pre-condition for foreign travel, granting him relief after over two years of legal wait.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court ordered the release of Rs 1 crore that Lok Sabha MP Karti P Chidambaram had deposited with the court in 2022 as a prerequisite for foreign travel.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan, and N Kotiswar Singh approved his application from 2023, noting that after his trip abroad, he returned to India and submitted his passport to the investigating officer.

At the beginning of the hearing, the court dealt with a separate miscellaneous application filed by Congress MP Karti Chidambaram.

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Justice Surya Kant observed,

“In the Karti Chidambaram matter, there’s an application seeking refund.”

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Chidambaram, said,

“He had to file an application every time he travelled abroad.”

Justice Kant clarified the context and said,

“The refund sought is of Rs.1 crore, which he had deposited as per this Court’s earlier orders.”

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He added,

“The petitioner was allowed to travel abroad after depositing money in an interest-bearing account with a nationalised bank. Initially Rs.2 crore was directed, later reduced to Rs.1 crore. He complied, travelled in Nov 2022, and returned his passport to the agency.”

The court stated,

“Amount of Rs 1 crore deposited by the petitioner alongwith interest accrued thereupon is directed to be released in 1 week,”

Karti, the son of former finance minister P Chidambaram, faces allegations in multiple cases, including the Aircel-Maxis and INX Media matters, but he has been granted bail in both.

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The Supreme Court had required him to deposit Rs 1 crore with the registry as a condition for traveling abroad in 2022.

In 2021, the court had permitted Chidambaram to travel overseas, subject to a condition of depositing ₹1 crore. A similar directive was issued again in 2022.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for Chidambaram, while Additional Solicitor General SV Raju represented the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Case Title: Karti P. Chidambaram Versus The Directorate of Enforcement, Delhi — MA 820/2023 in T.C.(Crl.) No. 4/2018.

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