Visa scam: No coercive action against Karti till July 12

One-liner: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday orally assured the Delhi HC that no coercive action will be taken against Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram till July 12.

Bail plea: This is in connection with his anticipatory bail plea in the alleged Chinese Visas scam to be taken up for hearing.

Status report: Justice Jasmeet Singh also asked the ED to file a status report on the matter before the next date of hearing.

Hearing on July 12: At the request of counsel for Karti and ED, the court listed the matter for further hearing on July 12.

Assurance: Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the ED, orally assured the court that nothing will happen till July 12.

Grant interim protection: Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Karti, urged the court to grant interim protection from arrest to Karti till the next date of hearing.

Dismissed by trial court: Karti had approached the HC after his anticipatory bail plea and that of two others was dismissed by the trial court on June 3.

Money laundering: ED has registered the money laundering case against Karti and others in the scam pertaining to the issuance of a visa to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011 when his father P Chidambaram was the home minister.

PMLA provisions: The agency has registered its case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) taking cognisance of a recent FIR by the CBI in the same case.  

Source: PTI