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INX Media case: Chidambaram denied protection from arrest by HC, may move Supreme Court

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INX Media case: Chidambaram denied protection from arrest by HC, may move Supreme Court

Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram’s plea seeking anticipatory bail in the corruption and money-laundering cases related to INX Media case was rejected by the Delhi High Court today (Tuesday, Aug 20).

Chidambaram’s lawyers are likely to approach the Supreme Court.

Chidambaram’s role had come under the scanner of the investigating agencies in the Rs 3,500-crore Aircel-Maxis deal and the INX Media case involving Rs 305 crore. It was during his tenure as finance minister in the UPA-I government that clearances from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) were given to the two ventures.

The CBI on May 15, 2017 had registered an FIR against alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007 when Chidambaram was the Finance Minister.

Thereafter, the ED had in 2018 lodged the money laundering case in this regard. The Enforcement Directorate had contended that the companies in which money was transferred are directly or indirectly controlled by Chidambaram’s son, Karti, and they have a reason to believe that the FIPB approval was granted to INX Media on his son’s intervention.

Also Read: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister nephew Ratul Puri arrested in bank fraud case: Congress claims move ‘politically motivated’

The high court had on July 25, 2018 granted interim protection from arrest to Chidambaram in both the cases and it was extended from time to time.

Vacating the order today, Justice Sunil Gaur said, “Both applications (seeking anticipatory bail) are dismissed.”

Senior advocate Dayan Krishnan urged the court that at least two-three days more protection be given to his client. The judge said that it will consider.

The case pertains to alleged financial irregularities in clearances granted when Chidambaram was the Union finance minister. His son Karti Chidambaram is also an accused in the case and was arrested by the CBI on February 28 last year. Later he was granted bail by the Delhi High Court in March.

The Enforcement Directorate has questioned Karti on several occasions in the INX Media case case. P Chidambaram was also questioned by the ED in January this year and on December 19 last year.

The ED has attached properties worth Rs 54 crore belonging to Karti Chidambaram in connection with the case. The agency also attached properties belonging to Indrani and Peter Mukerjea.

On May 31 last year, the former finance minister had moved court, seeking interim protection from arrest in the alleged INX Media corruption case. Subsequently, he was given protection from arrest.

Chidambaram’s petition had said that though no summons had ever been served on him by the ED in this case, he had an apprehension of arrest in view of the summons issued to him by the CBI, which was investigating the scheduled offence.

Chidambaram in his plea before the high court had said that he does not have a copy of the FIR registered by the ED as it has not been provided to him till date.

“He came to know about registration of the FIR from various summons received by his son from the ED, directing Karti to join the investigation,” it had said.

The plea had claimed that during the investigation of the ED’s case, which has been going on for over a year, no summon has been issued to Chidambaram till date, let alone any allegation of him evading the process of law or fleeing from the process of law or interfering with the investigation in any manner.

Also Read: Delhi High Court issues notice to Centre on Shah Faesal’s detention

“There is not even a slightest whisper about his tampering with any evidence or hampering/impeding the process of investigation,” it had said, while seeking the relief.

The CBI had earlier told the court that Chidambaram was needed for custodial interrogation in the INX Media case.

On July 4, a Delhi court had also allowed Indrani Mukerjea, the former head of the INX Media, to turn an approver in the CBI case.

Indrani Mukerjea and her husband Peter Mukherjea, who co-founded INX Media in 2007, had been charged with entering into a criminal conspiracy with Karti Chidambaram, whose father P Chidambaram was the then finance minister, to get foreign investments and evade punitive measures for not having the necessary approvals from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

In March 2018, Indrani Mukerjea told the CBI in a statement recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC that a deal of $1 million was struck between Karti Chidambaram and the Mukerjeas to secure approval from the FIPB in favour of INX Media. Last month, a Delhi court had allowed Indrani Mukerjea, who is a prime accused in the murder of her daughter Sheena Bora, to turn approver in the INX case.

In her application to turn approver, Mukerjea had prayed for pardon in the case in exchange of full and true disclosure.

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Zomato introduces Food Rescue feature

“We don’t encourage order cancellation at Zomato, because it leads to a tremendous amount of food wastage,” he said.

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Zomato has introduced a new feature called Food Rescue to minimise food wastage, announced the food delivery platform CEO Deepinder Goyal on Sunday.

Announcing the new feature on X, Goyal said the decision, to introduce the new feature, was taken to prevent the tremendous amount of food wastage due to order cancellation on the platform.

Committed to minimising food wastage, the Zomato boss said: “We don’t encourage order cancellation at Zomato, because it leads to a tremendous amount of food wastage.”

Goyal said despite having stringent policies, and a no-refund policy for cancellations, more than 4 lakh perfectly good orders get cancelled, for various reasons by customers.

He said the top concern for the online food delivery platform, the restaurant industry, and even the customers who cancel these orders, is to somehow save the food from going to waste.

With the launch of the new feature, Food Rescue, cancelled orders will now pop up for nearby customers, who can grab them at an unbeatable price, in their original untampered packaging, and receive them in just minutes.

According to Zomato, the cancelled order will pop up on the app for customers within a 3 km radius of the delivery partner carrying the order. To ensure freshness, the option to claim will only be available for a few minutes.

The online food delivery platform will not keep any proceeds except the required government taxes and the amount paid by the new customer will be shared with the original customer (if they made payment online) and with the restaurant partner.

Orders containing items sensitive to distances or temperature such as ice creams, shakes, smoothies, and certain perishable items, will not be eligible for Food Rescue.

Restaurant partners will continue to receive compensation for the original cancelled order, plus a portion of the amount paid by the new customer if the order is claimed, the company said. “Most restaurants have opted in for this feature, and can opt of it easily whenever they want, directly from their control panels,” it added.

The delivery partners will be compensated fully for the entire trip, from the initial pickup to the final drop-off at the new customer’s location, it said.

Food Rescue will show up on the customers’ home page automatically if there’s a cancelled order available for them to grab. The Customers have to refresh the home page to check for any newly available orders which need to be rescued.

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Rahul Gandhi takes a jibe at PM Modi over his unity remarks

Earlier during a rally in Maharashtra, PM Modi coined a new slogan, ‘Ek Hain to Safe Hain’ (If we are united, we are safe), to attack the Opposition.

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Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his ‘Ek hai toh safe hai’ remarks.

Sharing a picture featuring PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Industrialist Gautam Adani, SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on X, Gandhi wrote in Hindi, “’Mann ki baat, ab jubaan pe’ (What is in the heart, now on the tongue).”

Earlier during a rally in Maharashtra, PM Modi coined a new slogan, ‘Ek Hain to Safe Hain’ (If we are united, we are safe), to attack the Opposition.

PM Modi accused the Congress of dividing the society, caste and communities. “During the entire period that Congress ruled over India, Congress has always resorted to divide and rule. It created rifts within the SC-Dalits, ST-Adivasis and OBCs. For a safe and united Maharashtra, choose BJP-led Mahayuti…ek hai toh safe hai,” PM Modi said.

Responding to PM Modi’s remarks, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge slammed the PM for the ‘ek hai to safe hai’ narrative. Kharge stressed that many big Congress have laid down their lives to unite the country and attacked the BJP, saying, “You only divide but blame others. You say ‘batenge toh katenge’. Those who want the country to remain united will never pass such divisive slogans.” “The truth is that you are the ones who divide and you are the ones who cut, but you blame others. You are involved in baatna and kaatna,” he said.

Addressing Samvidhan Bachao Sammelan in Mumbai on Sunday, Kharge said: “BJP is giving new slogans these days. I just want to ask is there any danger in the country? If the country is in danger, it is from BJP-RSS. Because these are the people who talk about division and killing from morning to evening. We have always tried to keep the country united. Indira Gandhi ji was martyred for keeping the country united.”

Earlier in the day, Kharge lashed out at PM Modi for his remarks on the blank Constitution book also, saying it is necessary to enroll Modi in a primary school again for his remarks on the red book of the Constitution.

During a press conference after launching the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi ‘s (MVA) manifesto for Maharashtra Assembly elections, Kharge displayed a red book of the Constitution and said it was not blank as was being projected by PM Modi and his party BJP.

On the Prime Minister and BJP equating a red book of the Constitution with urban Naxalism, Kharge said Modi gave a similar copy in 2017 to then President Ram Nath Kovind.


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In Jharkhand, PM Modi says people are hankering for a handful of sand, Congress-JMM smuggling it

JMM-Congress have nothing to do with the issue of the people, they are filling their coffers, Modi said.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lashed out at the Congress-JMM coalition over its corruption and said when the people of Jharkhand are hankering for a handful of sand, the alliance is busy selling rivers, streams, and mountains in the state, adding their leaders have even built luxurious houses by smuggling sand. PM Modi alleged that they are taking bribes even for birth and death certificates.

Addressing the rally in Jharkhand’s Gumala, the Prime Minister said: “This is your money, you are its owner and Modi will not let your money be looted.” He added that “those who have looted will have to return it and spend their lives in jail” once his party comes to power in the state.

JMM-Congress have nothing to do with the issue of the people, they are filling their coffers, Modi said.

Hitting out at the alliance, PM Modi said: “You have seen the mountains of notes of the JMM and Congress leaders and ministers. I have been a Chief Minister and even become a Prime Minister, but I have never seen such huge mountains of notes in my life. I saw such mountains for the first time on TV. So many notes came out that the machines got tired of counting them.”

“If you divide into castes then the strength of the tribals will diminish. That’s why I say – if we stay united, we will be safe,” he reiterated his statement targeting the Congress party.

Till there was no unity between OBCs, tribals and Dalits, the Congress kept forming governments at the Centre, claimed Modi.

“Beware of Congress-JMM’s evil designs and conspiracies. They can go to any extent to snatch power. Congress has been an opponent of SC, ST, and OBC unity since Independence,” Modi said.

“More than 125 sub-castes are considered OBCs in the Chotanagpur region. Congress-JMM wants to break the OBC unity by pitting sub-castes against each other. I warn you ‘ek rahoge toh safe rahoge’,” he added. He said a BJP-led government was needed in Jharkhand to drive out infiltrators and eradicate corruption.

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