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Delhi HC adjourns case against Chidambaram till Aug 19

The Delhi high court on Tuesday adjourned till August 19 the hearing on a petition filed by Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy seeking Finance Minister P Chidambaram's prosecution in the alleged irregularities in purchase of a promoter's share of a private firm in 1991.

Justice Jaspal Singh, to whom the case was transferred on Monday, adjourned the matter as he wanted some time to study the case.

The case was earlier listed before single judge Anil Dev Singh, who refused to hear the argument because he knew Chidambaram personally.

Swamy, in his petition, alleged that Chidambaram did not disclose in his tax returns the true value of the shares of the Fairgrowth Financial Services Ltd (FFSL) acquired by him in 1991.

He said that not only had Chidambaram bought the promoter's shares at the face value (Rs 10 per share) in 1991, he also did not file his wealth tax returns in 1991-92 on time.

The petition said Chidambaram, who had bought 10,000 FFSL shares out of the promoters quota at par, thus augmented his wealth by Rs 546,000.

The petitioner alleged that it was amply proved that the promoter's shares were purchased by Chidambaram for inadequate consideration. The balance sheet also showed that the profits before tax of the company on a paid-up capital of Rs 10 million on March 13, 1991, shot up from Rs 11.1 million to Rs 623.8 million on a paid-up capital of Rs 86 million in just 15 months.

Earlier report: HC adjourns hearing

UNI