Chidambaram’s lawyer contended before Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri that the special judge took cognisance of the chargesheet for the alleged offence of money laundering in the absence of any sanction for prosecution of the former Union minister who was a public servant when the offence was allegedly committed.

The counsel for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raised a preliminary objection on the maintainability of the petition and submitted that sanction for prosecution was not required in this case as the allegations pertain to actions of Chidambaram which have nothing to do with his official duties.