Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram’s legal team today demanded the Enforcement Directorate to produce the transcript of their questioning session with the former Union finance minister, which, they claim as evidence that he was not evasive and was not asked the right questions. The legal team also claimed that the investigative agency, was bent on extracting confession from the 73-year-old.

On the second day of hearing this week on former Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s petition for pre-arrest bail in the ED’s INX Media case, his lawyers argued on the retrospective effect of the PMLA law.

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Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Chidambaram, told the court that the offence allegedly dated back to 2007 but the PMLA provisions came into effect in 2009. Despite this, the ED had invoked these provisions against Chidambaram. Singhvi contended that the main provisions of law against Chidambaram became scheduled offences under PMLA only in 2009, which was after a year when the alleged FIPB approval was given in 2007-08.

“You are trying to paint a person as kingpin. And it is on the basis of offences that did not exist at that point in time,” submitted Singhvi before the court.

Arguing on the line of questioning adopted by the investigating agencies, Singhvi said it appeared they were attempting to extract a confession from Chidambaram.

The investigative agencies arrested the former minister last week and have applied for a further extension of Chidambaram’s custody. They contend that he has not cooperated with the investigation and that they need more time to question him. Chidambaram was questioned in the INX Media case on three occasions. He has challenged the agency’s decision to arrest him, contending that he has answered to all their questions and the transcripts will prove that.

Appearing on behalf of Chidambaram, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, asked a bench of Justices R Banumathi and AS Bopanna to order the agency to produce the transcripts of the questioning conducted on December 19 last year, January 1 and 21 this year.

During Monday’s hearing, Mr Chidambaram accused the Enforcement Directorate of leaking its document on charges against him to the media and blindsiding him with the allegations.