New Delhi, June 09: A decade after allegations that former external affairs minister Madhavsinh Solanki had tried to "scuttle" the probe into the multi-crore Bofors scam, a Delhi court today issued notice to the senior Congress leader on an application by CBI seeking initiation of proceedings against him. Perusing the agency's application that Solanki's action was punishable under Section 193 IPC (false evidence), special judge Prem Kumar ordered that notice be served on Solanki for July 29.

Solanki, CBI alleged, had tried to mislead the Swiss authorities, who were executing the letters rogatory sent by India to that country seeking assistance in the Bofors probe and scuttle the investigations.

As minister in the Narasimha Rao cabinet, he visited Davos in Switzerland in 1992 to attend the World Economic Conference, the agency said adding there he arranged a meeting with Swiss foreign minister Rene Felber.

He even requested his Swiss counterpart that there should be no witnesses to the meeting, CBI claimed.

During the meeting on February 1, 1992, Solanki gave an envelope containing an unsigned typed memorandum to Felber saying he had new information about the case and that it was important for Felber to communicate it to Swiss government.

However, Felber told him that he was not responsible for "justice matters", but that he could pass on the document to the Federal Office of Justice.

Bureau Report