Shocked at the late-night arrest of P Chidambaram, his lawyer and Congress colleague Kapil Sibal today said the Supreme Court should have heard the urgent plea of the former minister. Speaking to The Tribune, he said the development had led to former minister’s special leave petition in the Apex Court against the Delhi High Court order infructuous.

“Our SLP in the Supreme Court means nothing now since the arrest has already happened. The SLP is infructuous and we will see what to do now. It’s shocking what’s happening,” he said.

He lamented SC’s disinclination to hear Chidambaram’s plea urgently yesterday and today. “This is particularly regrettable, specially when you get stays on oral mentioning. And you can’t even hear a man who has been protected by law for almost 15 months starting May last?”

On what Chidambaram intended to convey by appearing at the AICC headquarters after being evasive for nearly 27 hours, Sibal said his appearance was part of the joint strategy of the legal team representing him.

The purpose of Chidambaram’s appearance at the Congress office, he said, was to show everyone that while he was seeking urgent hearings from the court, the agencies were unfairly projecting him to be hiding.