New Delhi, Nov 20 (IANS): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ordered a stay on trial court proceedings against senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram in connection with the Aircel-Maxis money laundering case.

A bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri was hearing a plea filed by Chidambaram against the trial court’s order taking cognisance of the prosecution complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Chidambaram’s plea argued that the trial court should have not taken cognisance of the alleged offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) without any prior sanction having been obtained by the ED for prosecution, despite the fact that he held a public office at the time of the commission of the alleged money laundering offence.

Issuing notice to the federal anti-money laundering agency, Justice Ohri-led Bench directed that trial proceedings will remain stayed till further orders. The matter will be heard in January next year.

The case involves alleged irregularities in the grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval to the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2006 when Chidambaram was the Union Finance Minister.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED claimed that Chidambaram, in his capacity as Finance Minister, granted approval beyond his authority, benefiting specific individuals and receiving kickbacks. According to rules and the foreign direct investment policy in force at that time, Chidambaram was empowered to give approval to proposals involving foreign investment only up to Rs 600 crore. The Rs 3,500 crore Aircel-Maxis deal, where Malaysian communications service provider Maxis Berhad acquired a 74 per cent stake in Aircel, had come under scrutiny in 2011. Allegations include undue pressure on businessman C. Sivasankaran to sell his stake to Maxis. It is alleged that the former Union Minister’s son Karti Chidambaram's company received a 5 per cent stake in Aircel in 2006 in exchange for facilitating the Maxis deal.