New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday issued a circular stating that former Union Minister P. Chidambaram cannot leave the country and in this regard all airports, immigration desks have been put on high alert. The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice N. V. Ramana refused to grant interim relief from arrest to the former Finance Minister and referred the matter to Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi for urgent hearing on his anticipatory bail plea in the INX Media case.

Chidambaram's lawyer said the lookout notice stems from political vendetta as the former Minister "is not a flight risk". Already teams of the Central Burea of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate have been making rounds of his Jor Bagh residence here ever since the Delhi High Court denied him anticipatory bail on Tuesday.