New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday reserved its
order for February 21 on the CBI's plea seeking withdrawal of
case against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi in the
over two-decade-old Bofors payoff scam.
"This court has heard the argument. There is no point in
holding back the order for the information of the Central
Information Commission (CIC). Put the matter for pronouncement
of order on February 21", Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod
Yadav said.
CMM Yadav reserved his order on CBI's plea after advocate
Ajay Agrawal, who has been opposing the closure of case
against Quattrocchi, concluded his argument in this matter.
During the hearing, Agrawal moved an application before
the court saying it should wait for the decision of the CIC in
the matter, which is likely to be delivered within this month.
The court, however, did not accept Agrawal's submissions
and said, "Agrawal has been heard in public interest for a
fairly long time. The court do not intend to grant further
time to him."
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) ruled on Dec 31 that Quattrocchi and his associate Win Chadha, who is now dead, received a commission of over Rs.412 million in the Rs.15-billion howitzer gun deal in 1987.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, February 10, 2011, 17:28