INX Co-Founder Indrani Mukerjea Appears Before Delhi Court As Approver Saying That She Will Depose All Facts Truthfully

INX Media co-founder Indrani Mukerjea, who turned approver in the INX Media case recently, told a Delhi court that she will depose all facts truthfully.

The INX Media case allegedly involves former finance minister P Chidambaram’s son, Karti Chidambaram.

Earlier, the court of Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj had allowed her application to turn approver after giving a confessional statement.

The approver application was earlier heard by Special CBI judge Anurag Sain who sent the matter to the district judge to mark it to the appropriate bench which has the authority to deal with sitting MPs and MLAs. The matter was transferred after one of the accused, Karti Chidambaram, became an elected Member of Parliament.

Mukerjea is facing trial in a case involving the murder of her daughter Sheena Bora. Lodged in Mumbai’s Byculla jail, Mukerjea, on a video call, had requested to be pardoned. Her plea to turn approver in the INX Media case was not opposed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

CBI had registered an FIR in May 2017 for 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.

Thereafter, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had lodged a money laundering case against the company's founders Peter Mukerjea, his wife Indrani Mukerjea, and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Karti Chidambaram is accused of having received Rs 10 lakh in kickbacks in 2007 to help get clearances for foreign investments for INX Media when his father P Chidambaram was the finance minister in the then Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

He is also an accused in a case relating to alleged irregularities in the approval granted by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to the Aircel-Maxis deal.