A Delhi court on Tuesday ordered framing of charges against Congress MP Karti Chidambaramand six others in the Chinese visa scam case. The court has charged them with criminal conspiracy and has also named Bhaskar Raman as an accused. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for January 16.
Commenting on the matter, Chidambaram said, “The legal process allows me many avenues and all those avenues will be pursued.”
In an order passed on December 23, the court said the seven accused will face charges for alleged criminal conspiracy. The court has not yet released the full detailed order.
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In October 2024, the CBIfiled a charge sheet against Congress MP Karti Chidambaram and others over alleged bribery linked to visas issued to Chinese nationals in 2011. At the time, Karti Chidambaram’s father, P Chidambaram, was serving as the Union home minister. The charge sheet was submitted before a special court.
The CBI named Karti Chidambaram, his alleged close associate S Bhaskararaman, Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL), which is a Vedanta group company, and Mumbai-based Bell Tools. Investigators said Bell Tools was used to route the alleged bribe money.
What are the charges?
The agency has applied charges related to criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery under the Indian Penal Code, along with sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Other accused named in the charge sheet include Viral Mehta, Anup Agarwal, Mansoor Siddiqui and Chetan Shrivastava.
The charge sheet came after a two-year investigation into an FIR registered in 2022. The CBI had alleged that TSPL, based in Punjab, was building a 1,980 MW thermal power plant. The construction work had been given to a Chinese firm, Shandong Electric Power Construction Corp.
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Alleged plan to bypass visa limits
According to the CBI, the project was delayed and the company was facing possible penalties. Investigators claim that a TSPL executive then approached Karti Chidambaram through his associate Bhaskararaman.
The agency alleged that a plan was made to get around the limit on the number of project visas allowed for Chinese workers. This was allegedly done by reusing 263 project visas that had already been issued earlier to Chinese officials. Project visas were introduced in 2010 for the power and steel sectors, and there was no rule allowing these visas to be reused.
Approval and alleged bribe payment
The FIR said that in July 2011, a TSPL executive wrote to the Home Ministry asking for permission to reuse the project visas. The request was approved within a month. Investigators alleged that after this, Bhaskararaman demanded ₹50 lakh to ensure the approval, claiming it followed discussions with the then home minister.
The CBI further alleged that the money was sent from TSPL through Bell Tools in Mumbai, shown as consultancy fees and other visa-related expenses. Payments were reportedly made by cheque to Bell Tools and later handed over in cash to Bhaskararaman. The agency also claimed that the TSPL executive later sent emails thanking Karti Chidambaram and Bhaskararaman after the visas were cleared. |
