PC moves top court for protection of fundamental rights

New Delhi, February 24

Congress leader P Chidambaram has approached the Supreme Court seeking protection of his fundamental rights, including the right to privacy, amid summons to his son Karti Chidambaram and raids by the CBI and the ED in connection with cases related to Aircel-Maxis and INX Media.

Chidambaram, who is also a senior advocate, has claimed in his plea that as part of “political vendetta”, the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have made “vexatious” searches and issued repeated summons in these cases.

“The writ petition is being filed to defend and protect petitioner’s fundamental rights under Article 14 (equality before law), 19 (freedom of speech and expression) and 21 (right to life and personal liberty) of the Constitution and to defend his right to privacy and the right to live, along with members of his family, in dignity,” the petition said.

“The CBI and the ED, as part of political vendetta, have made vexatious searches, issued repeated summons, unreasonably questioned persons for unconscionably long hours, unlawfully attached fixed deposits, maliciously leaked false information to the media and otherwise caused extreme harassment, anguish and humiliation to me and my son, and to other persons who are normal business and social friends of my son,” Chidambaram said.

He said both he and his son had categorically denied any wrongdoing in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approvals in these cases. — PTI