Court upholds CBI plea in Bofors case (Lead)
January 6th, 2011 - 3:17 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Jan 6 (IANS) Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod Yadav Thursday upheld the CBI plea that the tax notice served on Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi was not linked with the criminal aspect of the Bofors kickbacks scam.The magistrate dismissed an application asking the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the central government to state whether there was any change in their stand seeking closure of criminal cases against Quattrocchi, one of the alleged recipients of bribes from Sweden’s Bofors company.
The ruling came three days after the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ruled sensationally that Quattrocchi and his Indian partner Win Chadha did take commissions of over Rs.412 million in the 1986 Bofors gun deal.
The court said it was satisfied with the CBI stand that the IT order dealt with a tax issue and not the criminal aspect of the case.
On Tuesday, the CBI counsel was asked if they had got any fresh directive from the government in the light of the tribunal order.
The CBI had in 1999 charged former defence secretary S.K. Bhatnagar, Quattrocchi, Chadha, former Bofors chief Martin Ardbo and the company in the kickbacks case that played a key role in the defeat of the Congress party in the 1989 Lok Sabha election.
Bhatnagar, Ardbo and Chadha are dead. Quattrocchi - who has never appeared before any court in India - is the only surviving accused.
The CBI has failed on two occasions to get Quattrocchi extradited — first from Malaysia in 2003 and then from Argentina in 2007. It then said there was no real purpose in going ahead with the case.
- No change in CBI plan to withdraw Bofors case, court told - Jan 06, 2011
- Let home ministry first decide on Qattrocchi extradition: Krishna - Jan 07, 2011
- CBI wants Quattrocchi case withdrawn despite new twist (Lead) - Jan 04, 2011
- Bofors deal: Decision on dropping Quattrocchi cases Feb 21 - Feb 10, 2011
- Court to resume Bofors payoff closure case Thursday (Roundup) - Jan 04, 2011
- Chronology: Bofors graft row over last 25 years - Apr 25, 2012
- Court upholds CBI plea in Bofors case (Second Lead) - Jan 06, 2011
- 25 years of India's 'Watergate': The Bofors scandal (Lead) - Apr 25, 2012
- 25 years of India's 'Watergate': The Bofors scandal (Second Lead, superseding previous story) - Apr 25, 2012
- Bofors payoff closure case deferred to Thursday (Intro Roundup) - Jan 04, 2011
- Not enough evidence against Bofors' Quattrochi: CBI - Jan 04, 2011
- Bofors scam returns to haunt Congress - Jan 03, 2011
- Bofors ghost out again to haunt Congress - Jan 03, 2011
- Delhi court upholds CBI plea in Bofors scam, next hearing in Feb - Jan 06, 2011
- The scandal that shook India two decades ago (Bofors Chronology) - Mar 04, 2011
Tags: appellate tribunal, bhatnagar, bofors case, bofors gun, bribes, cbi, central bureau of investigation, central government, chadha, congress party, defence secretary, gun deal, indian partner, italian businessman, key role, kickbacks, lok sabha election, magistrate, two occasions, yadav