Chidambaram complains of illness, taken to AIIMS

New Delhi: Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who is currently in ED custody in the money-laundering case related to the INX Media case, was on Monday evening taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here after the 74-year-old Rajya Sabha MP complained of ill-health.

The court had at the time of extending ED custody on October 24, ordered that Chidambaram be taken to AIIMS in the capital, known for having the best medical facilities in the nation, in case any urgent medical care is required. The veteran Congress leader was soon discharged and taken back to ED custody.

At the last remand hearing, the Congress leader's counsel Kapil Sibal had argued in court to grant interim relief for Chidmabram over the weekend, as his illness was getting serious, with Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta vehemently opposing the request, on ED's behalf.

Sibal had submitted in court that Chidambaram needed to be taken to the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology in Hyderabad, where doctors are aware of his medical history.

The ex-finance minister is currently being held at the ED headquarters since the Enforcement Directorate arrested him on October 17 when he was in judicial custody in the CBI's INX Media case. A room on the fifth floor of the ED building has been prepared for him with all the court-mandated facilities.