சீன விசா முறைகேடு வழக்கு: காங்கிரஸ் எம்.பி. கார்த்தி சிதம்பரம் மீது குற்றச்சாட்டு பதிவு செய்ய டெல்லி கோர்ட் உத்தரவு
புதுடில்லி: சீன விசா பணமோசடி வழக்கில், காங்., - எம்.பி., கார்த்தி மீது குற்றச்சாட்டுகள் பதிவு செய்ய டில்லி சி.பி.ஐ., நீதி மன்றம் உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளது.
'வேதாந்தா' குழுமத்தைச் சேர்ந்த டி.எஸ்.பி.எல்., நிறுவனம், கடந்த 2011ல் பஞ்சாபில் அனல்மின் நிலையம் அமைத்தது. இந்த பணிகளுக்காக, சீன ஊழியர்கள் 263 பேருக்கு விதிமீறி விசா வாங்க முயன்றது. இதற்காக அப்போதைய மத்திய உள்துறை அமைச்சராக இருந்த சிதம்பரத்தின் மகன் கார்த்தியை அணுகியதாக கூறப்படுகிறது.
அவருக்கு நெருக்கமாக இருந்த பாஸ்கரராமன் என்பவர் மூலம், 50 லட்சம் ரூபாய் லஞ்சம் பெற்று, சீன ஊழியர்களுக்கு விசா பெற்று கொடுத்ததாக குற்றச்சாட்டு எழுந்தது. இது தொடர்பாக, 2020ல் வழக்கு பதிந்து விசாரணை நடத்திய சி.பி.ஐ., கடந்த 2022ல் குற்றப்பத்திரிகை தாக்கல் செய்தது.
அதில், தற்போதைய சிவகங்கை தொகுதி காங்., - எம்.பி., கார்த்தி, அவரது உதவியாளர் பாஸ்கரராமன், விரால் மேத்தா, அனுப் அகர்வால், மன்சூர் சித்திக் மற்றும் சேத்தன் ஸ்ரீவஸ்தவா ஆகியோரது பெயர்கள் சேர்க்கப் பட்டன.
இந்நிலையில், இவ்வழக்கு டில்லி சி.பி.ஐ., நீதிமன்றத்தில் நேற்று விசாரணைக்கு வந்தது. அப்போது, கார்த்தி மற்றும் ஏழு பேர் மீது குற்றச்சாட்டுகளை பதிவு செய்ய நீதிபதி உத்தரவிட்டார். வழக்கில் இருந்து சேத்தன் ஸ்ரீவஸ்தவா மட்டும் விடுவிக்கப்பட்டார்.
ஐ.என்.எக்ஸ்., மீடியா மற்றும் ஏர்செல் - மேக்சிஸ் வழக்குகளில், கார்த்தி மீது அமலாக்கத் துறை விசாரணை நடத்தி வரும் நிலையில், தற்போது சீன விசா பணமோசடி வழக்கிலும் பெயர் சேர்க்கப்பட்டிருப்பது அவருக்கு சிக்கலை ஏற்படுத்தியுள்ளது.
Court orders charges against Karti Chidambaram in Chinese visa case
December 23, 2025
A Delhi court on Tuesday ordered the framing of charges for criminal conspiracy and corruption against Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram and six others in connection with the Chinese visa scam case, saying there was a prima facie case against them.
In October 2024, the Central Bureau of Investigation had filed a charge sheet against Karti Chidambaram and others in connection with alleged bribery in facilitating visas of Chinese nationals for a power company, Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL), in 2011, when his father, P Chidambaram, was the Union home minister.
The court, however, discharged one accused, Chetan Shrivastava, saying there was no evidence against him.
Besides Karti Chidambaram, the Lok Sabha MP from Sivaganga, the CBI had named his alleged close associate and chartered accountant, S Bhaskararaman, Talawandi Sabo Power Ltd (TSPL), a subsidiary of Vedanta, and Mumbai-based Bell Tools, through which bribes were allegedly routed.
In a 98-page order, special judge Dig Vinay Singh underlined that at the stage of framing charges, a mini-trial was not required, and the court had to only consider whether the material collected by the investigating agency reflected a strong suspicion or a prima facie case against the accused persons.
"At this stage of framing the charge, the approver's statement must be accepted without questioning its authenticity, as that will be examined during trial. The material presented by the prosecution must be accepted at face value at this stage," the court said.
It said that no doubt the evidence of an accomplice was of tainted character and very weak, but the court could accept it as substantive evidence and enquire, provided it was materially corroborated.
Noting the allegations against Karti Chidambaram, the court said that the approver approached him in Chennai to obtain 800 additional Project Visas for TSPL, believing he had contacts in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) because of his father.
It noted that the approver allegedly met Karti Chidambaram and S Bhaskaraman in Karti's Chennai office in June 2011 to discuss the visa requirements, following which Karti Chidambaram instructed the approver to discuss the necessary details with Bhaskaraman.
The court said that, according to the allegations, Bhaskaraman subsequently demanded and obtained a bribe, and after a bribe of Rs 50 lakh was paid, the approver even called Karti Chidambaram to thank him, following which he affirmed that the payment had been received.
It noted that Chidambaram had allegedly received through emails a copy of the request letter sent by TSPL to the MHA, an attachment containing the request letter for visa reuse submitted by the approver, and the MHA approval letter for the re-use of visas.
These emails were sent or forwarded by his chartered accountant, the court said, noting the allegations.
It said, "The above-mentioned facts of Accused 2 (Karti Chidambaram) meeting the approver in the presence of Accused 1 (Bhaskaraman) at Chennai, and telling the approver to explain his requirement, followed by the subsequent demand and payment and telephonic conversations regarding receipt of amount, as well as exchange of crucial documents, are cited (by the CBI) as demonstrating a meeting of minds to achieve a common objective."
The court said that the conspiracy between both was evident, and the law did not require a conspirator to interact with every other conspirator.
It said that the recovery of the money from Chidambaram was not necessary at the present stage, nor was there any requirement to trace the alleged bribe amount.
"The defence arguments, including the claim that Accused 2 (Karti Chidambaram) did not read the emails, or that there is no substantiated proof of the alleged meeting in Chennai or the telephonic call, do not help his case, as the strong suspicion is supported by the approver's statements and the case against him is not based solely on email confirmation," the court said.
It said that other issues raised by the defence, including a lack of prior appointments, tickets, vouchers, location data, or the ability to collect call detail records (CDRs), had to be considered during the trial.
"The approver's statement makes it clear that accused 2 guided the approver to accused 1 to disclose his requirement and details, and thereafter, accused 1 demanded and received the bribe. The material establishes a strong suspicion against accused 2; therefore, his prayer for discharge is rejected," the court said.
It said "prima facie" there was sufficient material to frame charges against Karti Chidambaram for the substantive offence under IPC Sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and under Sections 8 (taking gratification, in order, by corrupt or illegal means, to influence a public servant) and 9 (taking gratification, for exercise of personal influence with public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.
It also ordered framing similar charges against Bhaskararaman along with IPC Section 204 (destruction of document to prevent its production as evidence) for the alleged deletion of emails containing incriminating evidence.
The court also directed that charges be framed for the offence of criminal conspiracy and under PC Act provisions against TSPL, M/s Bell Tools Ltd, Viral Mehta, Anup Agarwal and Mansoor Siddiqi.
It, however, discharged the eighth accused, Chetan Shrivastava, saying there was no evidence to prove that he was involved in the conspiracy.
The court trashed the argument of the defence claiming absence of grave suspicion, saying, "It is not a case where the material suggests mere suspicion. Instead, it suggests grave suspicion about the conspiracy and the commission of an offence."
The court also said that it was not necessary for each conspirator to communicate with all others, nor was each conspirator required to know every detail of the scheme or to participate in every stage.
It said, "What is essential is that they agree on the design or purpose of the conspiracy."
Also rejecting the argument that there was no motive in the case, the court said, "Motive must be inferred from surrounding circumstances in a specific case, especially considering the context at the time the offence was committed, as in the present case."
"Direct evidence of motive is hard to obtain. The accused persons, particularly those from TSPL, only knew the driving force and motive for offering a bribe."
The court, however, said that the penal offences of cheating, forgery for cheating, using as genuine a forged document as genuine, and falsification of accounts were not made out in the case.
The CBI had filed the charge sheet after two years of probe into its FIR registered in 2022, where it had alleged that the Punjab-based TSPL was setting up a 1980 MW thermal power plant and the work was outsourced to Chinese company Shandong Electric Power Construction Corp (SEPCO).
The project was running behind schedule, and the company was allegedly facing the prospect of a penalty.
The CBI FIR, which contained findings of the investigating officer who undertook the preliminary inquiry, alleged that an executive of TSPL approached Karti Chidambaram through his "close associate/front man" Bhaskararaman.
"They devised a back-door way to defeat the purpose of the ceiling (maximum of project visas permissible to the company's plant) by granting permission to re-use 263 project visas allotted to the said Chinese company's officials," the agency had said after the registration of FIR and searches.
Project visas were a special type of visa introduced in 2010 for the power and steel sector, for which detailed guidelines were issued during P Chidambaram's tenure as home minister, but there was no provision for the re-issue of project visas, the FIR had alleged.
A TSPL executive allegedly submitted a letter to the home ministry on July 30, 2011, seeking approval to reuse the project visas allotted to his company, which was approved within a month and the permission was issued, the FIR had alleged.
"On August 17, 2011, the executive, on being directed by Bhaskararaman, sent a copy of the above letter dated July 30, 2011 to him through e-mail which was forwarded to Karti... Bhakaskararaman after discussion with P Chidambaram, the then home minister, demanded an illegal gratification of Rs 50 lakh for ensuring the approval," the FIR had alleged.
The FIR also alleged that the payment of the said bribe was routed from TSP to Karti Chidambaram and Bhaskararaman through Mumbai-based Bell Tools Ltd with payments camouflaged under two invoices raised for consultancy and out-of-pocket expenses for Chinese visas-related work.
The TSPL executive had later thanked Karti Chidambaram and Bhaskararaman on emai, it alleged.
Payment against the invoices was made by TSPL to Bell Tools Limited through cheque and then the said amount was paid in cash to Bhaskararaman, it had alleged.
