Delhi HC to Hear Karti Chidambaram’s Plea to Quash CBI FIR in Diageo Bribery Case on August 12

The Delhi High Court on Monday, 4 August 2025, said that it would hear on 12 August the plea filed by Congress MP Karti Chidambaram seeking to quash a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) First Information Report (FIR) registered against him in connection with the Diageo Scotland bribery case.

Justice Ravinder Dudeja fixed the date as 12 August after an adjournment was sought on behalf of the CBI counsel, who was facing some medical difficulty.

The counsel informed the court that another application concerning the same matter is already listed for 12 August, so the present case may also be taken up on that day.

Justice Dudeja asked Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, who is representing Karti Chidambaram, to clarify the grounds for seeking quashing of the CBI FIR.

In response, Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra submitted: “Delay in registration, delay in preliminary inquiry, no public servant identified, no sanction, and two distinct allegations. Offences are not made out against us. These are broadly the five grounds.”

The court accordingly recorded, “Counsel for the CBI informed the court that an identical petition seeking quashing of RC 22020253001, filed by Advantage Strategic Consulting, is already listed before this court on 12 August 2025. The issue and the challenge in both matters are the same"

"Accordingly, list this matter on 12 August 2025,” the court directed.

Karti Chidambaram had argued before the court that the FIR against him was registered after an unreasonable delay, making it legally questionable. He has alleged that the case is politically motivated and rooted in vendetta by those in power.

This is the fourth case filed against the Congress MP. It stems from a preliminary inquiry started by the CBI in 2018 to examine alleged irregularities in approvals given by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board during the tenure of his father, P. Chidambaram, as Finance Minister.

In this case, the CBI has accused Karti of using his influence to help alcoholic beverage company Diageo Scotland after a ban was imposed on the duty-free sale of its whisky in India.

As per the CBI’s allegations, Diageo made suspicious payments of 15,000 US dollars to Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited, a firm said to be linked to Karti and his close associate S. Bhaskararaman. The payment was reportedly disguised as a consultancy fee.

The matter dates back to April 2005, when the India Tourism Development Corporation, which held exclusive rights over imported duty-free liquor sales, imposed a ban on Diageo’s products. The ban allegedly caused significant losses to Diageo, which relied heavily on duty-free sales of its popular brand Johnnie Walker. The CBI now alleges that Diageo sought Karti’s help in getting this embargo lifted.

Case Title: Karti P. Chidambaram v. Central Bureau of Investigation

Date of Order: 4 August 2025

Bench: Justice Ravinder Dudeja