New Delhi, Jul 10 (IANS): A special court here on Tuesday extended till August 7 the interim protection from arrest granted to senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis deal case.

Special Judge O.P. Saini directed Chidambaram to join the investigation whenever required.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had opposed the decision, saying the former Finance Minister and his son were evasive in their replies and as such ED would not be able to get to the truth if they were granted bail.

ED pleaded that it is doing the investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to unearth the larger conspiracy involved in the approval given by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for the Aircel-Maxis deal.

On May 30, the court granted interim protection to P. Chidambaram till June 5 which was leter extended till July 10.

Earlier, the court had granted interim protection to Karti Chidambaram from arrest till July 10 in the same case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation and the ED are investigating how Karti Chidambaram allegedly managed to get clearance from the FIPB for the Aircel-Maxis deal when P. Chidambaram was the Finance Minister in 2006.