New Delhi, Oct 25: The Hinduja brothers today contended before a Delhi court that there is no evidence to indict them under the charge of conspiracy and cheating in the Bofors pay-off case. "The chargesheet is silent about the role of Hindujas whether they have acted as a middlemen in the contract. There is no evidence to bring them under the scope of cheating and conspiracy," Hindujas counsel Ashok Arora told special judge Prem Kumar during the arguments on framing of charges in the Rs 64 crore Bofors pay-off case. Arora submitted that the Hindujas had no role in the contract and to implicate them under cheating and conspiracy was wrong. He said even the attorney general (AG) in his report had said that it was difficult for any party to prove the negative aspect or that there were middlemen in the deal.

He claimed that AG's opinion was that it would be difficult to prove that the Hindujas were acting as the middlemen in the contract.
The counsel said to prove the charge of cheating against the Hindujas prosecution did not have evidence to show that there was fraudulent and dishonest inducement on the part of the accused.


The Europe-based Hinduja brothers - Srichand, Gopichand and Prakashchand - are accused of taking an illegal Commission of about Rs 16 crore from Bofors for having helped the company clinch the controversial gun deal.

Bureau Report