New Delhi: A Delhi court on Tuesday adjourned till January 6 hearing on the CBI's plea for withdrawal of the proceedings against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi in Bofors pay-off case.
The court made this ruling after hearing a plea by the CBI for withdrawal of proceedings against Ottavio Quattrocchi in the two-decade-old Bofors pay off case.
The CBI has pleaded in its petition that the ITAT ruling in the Bofors pay offs case is "nothing new" and its application for withdrawing the proceedings against Quattrocchi should be allowed.
Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra, appearing for CBI, said that the findings of ITAT had been mentioned in a chargesheet filed by it in the over two-decade-old Bofors
case.
As soon as proceedings began before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod Yadav, Supreme Court advocate Ajay Agarwal, who has challenged the CBI move, contended that the matter be re-looked into in view of the ITAT's recent order.
Yadav then asked Additional Solicitor General PP Malhotra, appearing for CBI, whether it has received any fresh instructions on the issue.
Malhotra replied that no fresh instructions have been given even as he sought withdrawal of case against 70-year-old Quattrocchi.
The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, who had earlier heard the arguments of all the parties including the CBI, heard the agency's contentions after the recent ITAT order.
The ITAT order, which had yesterday said that kickbacks of Rs 41 crore were paid to late Win Chaddha and Quattrocchi in the Howitzer gun deal, was placed before the court.
Agarwal had submitted yesterday that Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily had made a statement saying that the government will re-look into the issue in light of ITAT order.
The court after hearing Agarwal's contentions queried from the Additional Solicitor General the stand of the government.
"I would like to know your comments on Law Minister's statement," CMM Yadav said.
Malhotra, however, said that he is not aware of any such statement and this withdrawal application was filed after taking all aspects of the case in depth.
The court had earlier reserved its order on CBI's plea seeking withdrawal of criminal proceedings against Quattrocchi, the sole surviving accused in the politically-sensitive case.
Agrawal, who has been pursuing the case in the Supreme Court and had approached the trial court against the CBI's move to seek a closure of the case, had contended that the government and the agency were trying to close the case despite having sufficient evidence against Quattrocchi.
Justifying its closure report, the CBI had earlier contended that it was difficult to secure presence of Quattrocchi for prosecution and that all other accused were either dead or charges against them had been quashed by the Delhi High Court.
The CBI had failed on two occasions in its attempt to get Quattrocchi extradited -- first from Malaysia in 2003 and then from Argentina in 2007.
Last November, the agency had asked the Interpol to take Quattrocchi's name off the Red Corner notice list.
With PTI Inputs
First Published: Tuesday, January 04, 2011, 15:20