Economic Times: New Delhi: Tuesday, January 16, 2018.
A BJP leader,
pursuing the politically sensitive Rs 64-crore Bofors pay-offs case, today
alleged in the Supreme Court that the CBI had misled Delhi High Court claiming
that nearly Rs 250 crore was spent in the probe.
Advocate Ajay
Agrawal, who had contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 from Rai Bareli
against then Congress President Sonia Gandhi, claimed that as per an RTI reply
of March 21, 2011 received by him, a sum of Rs 4.77 crore was spent in the
total investigation of the Bofors case.
The apex
court had on October 18, 2005 admitted Agrawal's petition which was filed after
the CBI failed to approach the top court with the appeal within the 90-day
deadline following the May 31, 2005 Delhi High Court judgement quashing charges
against the Europe-based industrialists, the Hinduja brothers.
Justice R S
Sodhi of Delhi High Court, since retired, had on May 31, 2005 quashed all
charges against the three Hinduja brothers -- Srichand, Gopichand and
Prakashchand -- and the Bofors company, castigating CBI for its handling of the
case, saying it had cost the exchequer about Rs 250 crore.
"It is
the CBI who had given the (high court) judge to understand that Rs 250 crore
has been spent on the investigation while the depondent, petitioner-in-person
(Agrawal), herein received a RTI reply dated March 21, 2011 that a sum of Rs
4.77 crore has been spent in the total investigation of the case," Agrawal
said in his short affidavit filed in the top court, which listed his appeal in
the regular list of business for hearing tomorrow.
He claimed in
his affidavit that the sum of Rs 4.77 crore included the fee paid to the
lawyers in the entire litigation in the case in India and abroad.
Before the
2005 verdict of Justice Sodhi, another judge of the Delhi High Court, retired
Justice J D Kapoor, had on February 4, 2004 exonerated late prime minister
Rajiv Gandhi in the case and directed the framing of charge of forgery under
section 465 of the IPC against Bofors company.
The Rs
1,437-crore deal between India and Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors for the
supply of 400 155mm Howitzer guns for the Indian Army was entered into on March
24, 1986.
Swedish Radio
on April 16, 1987, had claimed that the company had paid bribes to top Indian
politicians and defence personnel.
The CBI on
January 22, 1990 had registered the FIR for alleged offences of criminal
conspiracy, cheating and forgery under the Indian Penal Code and other sections
of the Prevention of Corruption Act against Martin Ardbo, the then President of
AB Bofors, alleged middleman Win Chadda and the Hinduja brothers.
It had
alleged that certain public servants and private persons in India and abroad
had entered into a criminal conspiracy between 1982 and 1987 in pursuance of
which the offences of bribery, corruption, cheating and forgery were committed.
The first
charge sheet in the case was filed on October 22, 1999, against Chadda, Ottavio
Quattrocchi, then defence secretary S K Bhatnagar, Ardbo and the Bofors
company. A supplementary charge sheet was filed against the Hinduja brothers on
October 9, 2000.
A special CBI
court in Delhi on March 4, 2011, had discharged Quattrocchi from the case
saying the country could not afford to spend hard-earned money on his
extradition which had already cost Rs 250 crore.
Quattrocchi,
who fled from here on July 29-30, 1993, never appeared before any court in
India to face prosecution. He passed away on July 13, 2013. The other accused
persons who have died are Bhatnagar, Chadda and Ardbo.