A Delhi court has directed the framing of formal charges against Congress Member of Parliament Karti P Chidambaram and six other individuals in the long-running Chinese visa scam case. The order, issued on Tuesday, marks a significant development in the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) probe into alleged corruption linked to visa approvals for Chinese nationals over a decade ago.
Court's Decisive Order and the Accused
Special Judge (CBI) Dig Vinay Singh passed the order for framing charges under sections related to criminal conspiracy. The court has discharged one accused, Chetan Shrivastava, while proceeding against the remaining seven. The detailed written order is currently awaited. This decision follows the CBI's charge sheet, filed in October 2024, which named Karti Chidambaram, the Lok Sabha MP from Sivaganga, and his alleged close associate S Bhaskararaman as key accused.
Other individuals and entities named in the charge sheet include officials from Talawandi Sabo Power Ltd (TSPL) – a subsidiary of Vedanta – and Mumbai-based Bell Tools Limited, which was allegedly used as a conduit for routing bribes. The agency has invoked serious charges under the Indian Penal Code, including cheating and forgery, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Unpacking the 2011 Chinese Visa Scam
The case revolves around events from 2011, when Karti Chidambaram's father, P Chidambaram, was the Union Home Minister. The CBI alleges that Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL) was setting up a 1980 MW thermal power plant in Punjab and had outsourced work to the Chinese firm Shandong Electric Power Construction Corp (SEPCO).
With the project lagging behind schedule and facing potential penalties, the company needed more Chinese personnel on site. However, there was a ceiling on the number of project visas – a special category introduced in 2010 for the power and steel sectors. The CBI FIR alleges that TSPL executives approached Karti Chidambaram through Bhaskararaman to find a "back-door way" to bypass this limit.
The alleged scheme involved seeking permission to re-use 263 project visas that had already been allotted, a practice for which there was no provision in the official guidelines. According to the agency, a letter was submitted to the Home Ministry on July 30, 2011, seeking this approval, which was granted within a month.
The Alleged Bribery and Money Trail
The CBI's investigation claims that for facilitating this approval, an illegal gratification of ₹50 lakh was demanded. The agency states that this bribe was routed from TSPL to Karti Chidambaram and Bhaskararaman through Bell Tools Limited in Mumbai.
The payments were allegedly camouflaged under invoices raised for "consultancy and out-of-pocket expenses for Chinese visas-related work." The CBI claims that after the payment was made via cheque to Bell Tools, the amount was subsequently handed over in cash to Bhaskararaman. Investigators have cited an email where a TSPL executive later thanked Karti Chidambaram and Bhaskararaman, which forms part of the evidence.
The court's order to frame charges indicates it has found prima facie evidence to proceed with a trial against the accused. This case, stemming from a CBI FIR registered in 2022 after a two-year probe, is now set to enter the next critical phase in the judicial process.
