New Delhi: On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi accused the government of using the Directorate of Enforcement and the CBI to "character assassinate" former Union finance minister P Chidambaram. “Modi’s govt is using the ED and CBI to character assassinate Mr Chidambaram. I strongly condemn this disgraceful misuse of power,” Rahul Gandhi twitted. A group of top lawyers submitted a unique leave petition at the Supreme Court on Wednesday morning seeking provisional relief after his anticipatory bail plea in the INX Media case was refused by the Delhi high court on Tuesday. After the Delhi high court dismissed his anticipatory bail plea on Tuesday, the former finance minister had approached the apex court requesting protection from arrest.

The CBI released a notice to Chidambaram on Tuesday evening asking him to appear "within two hours" before the inquiry officer. A squad of policemen from the CBI visited his residence in Jor Bagh but left after confirming that he was not there.