Special Judge O P Saini adjourned the matter without giving any date for further hearing, saying that the prosecution may approach the court as and when the probe is complete.
A source told Moneycontrol that the MCA’s Registrar of Companies had carried out an extensive investigation into these companies and found several instances of funds being siphoned off.
Alexandra Mauritius Ltd, one of the institutional investors in MCX, has been untraceable and failed to get FIPB approval even six years after it sold its stake in the company.
The deal has won the approval of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in the last few months, but some in the government have expressed concerns, the source said, declining to be named.
When the petition came up for hearing today on the question of maintainability, Justice P Velmurugan, after hearing arguments by both sides, adjourned it to July 28 without passing any interim order.
The proposal was pending before the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) which has been abolished now.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has prepared a draft SOP and is circulating it to different departments including the economic affairs for their views.
Rebutting allegations that his son Karti had influenced the decisions of the now-defunct Foreign Investment Promotion Board, Chidambaram said it was a "despicable slur" on the six secretaries of the government.
"The momentous initiative (scrapping of FIPB), which is a follow-up of the measure announced in the Union Budget, would streamline the process of FDI approvals, and thereby boost FDI flows into the country, adding to growth and employment," CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said.
The responsibility of handling FDI proposals will now be left only to a single ministry and the concerned sector regulator to hasten fund flows and ease procedures
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board could be scrapped with effect from next month, sources have told CNBC-TV18.
"They have not seized any documents and cannot prove any charges against me. I have not done anything wrong," Karti told reporters here, reacting to the CBI raids at several places linked to his father and him.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal rejected Chidambaram's charge that he was being targeted for his columns critical of the government and claimed that the issue was why beneficiaries of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) gave "money to firms owned by his son".
"All I will say is, I shall continue to speak and write," he said in a statement here as CBI today launched searches at several places linked to the former finance minister and his son Karti over alleged favours granted in foreign investment clearance to a firm, INX Media, in 2007.
Alexandra, one of the institutional investors in MCX, did not have the approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to divest its stake in MCX, sources said.
The idea behind dissolution of FIPB is avoiding delays in clearances for foreign funds. More sectors on automatic route will help ease cash flow into the country.
DIPP is likely to be the key agency that will pilot foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals through a process of inter-ministerial consultation
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, is scheduled to meet on April 17. As many as 8 proposals are on the agenda, the Finance Ministry said in a meeting notice.
"As FM, I granted approval in the normal course of business," he said in a statement. Chidambaram's remarks comes a day after the Supreme Court asked the CBI to file status report on the probe being carried out on various aspects of the Aircel-Maxis deal.
According to assurance, tax and advisory firm Grant Thornton, there were 44 PE transactions last month worth USD 585 million, as against 97 deals worth USD 1.26 billion a year ago.
The government is moving ahead with its plan to wind up the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and it may announce a new mechanism to replace the FIPB, as early as April this year.
FM Arun Jaitley had announced in the budget for 2017-18 the government‘s intent to replace FIPB with a new system to ease FDI rules and remove procedural delays
RBI remains opposed to the payout under the existing structure. RBI said the existing clause in the joint venture agreement was illegal, something which Tata Sons denies. RBI said a fixed rate of return for exit from the joint venture makes it illegal.
As reported in Moneycontrol on Monday, the government may allow limited sale of beauty and personal care products in global giants' food retail outlets as part of plans to ease rules for multinationals to open stores in the country.
