New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday accepted the closure report filed by the CBI, which sought to withdraw the case against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi in the two-decade-old Bofors pay-off case.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod Yadav, while passing a 70-page order, observed that it will be in the best interest of the public that this case be closed as the investigation seems to be heading in no direction.
The court also based its judgement on the grounds that “the excessive delay” in extraditing 70-year-old Quattrocchi has weakened the case so it would be most appropriate to close the case. Quattrocchi has never appeared before any court in India to face trial.
CBI working in collusion with Quattrocchi: Petitioner
Reacting to the verdict, advocate Ajay K Agrawal, the main petitioner in the case, said, “We will appeal against the verdict in the higher court.”
Perturbed over the court’s judgement, he said, “The CBI has enough evidence against the Italian businessman but it is working in collusion with him.”
He further lamented that if the CBI’s argument of “excessive delay” becomes the basis for a major judgment like this and sustains in future, then amnesty will have to be given to lakhs of people, who have been languishing in Indian jails, against whom the trail is pending in various courts.
Aggarwal also rubbished CBI’s argument that Rs 250 crores has been wasted so far in the case. Quoting a former CBI director, Aggarwal told reporters that so far only Rs 5 crore has been spent and the CBI’s remarks about the same are “superfluous.”
Attacking the judicial system in India, Aggarwal said, “The courts in India have always favoured Quattrochhi. The CBI has been used as a tool by the ruling side and also by the courts to favour the Italian businessman.”
Agrawal, who had opposed the agency's move, had earlier filed the written arguments alleging Massimo Quattrocchi, son of the Italian businessman, has been visiting India "almost every month for 8 to 10 days and still doing a middleman's job as was earlier done by his father."
"The CBI application does not fulfil the three basic requirements that is bonafide, good faith and public interest and that the government and the CBI are in collusion with Quattrocchi and the plea is filed to bail him out and if it is allowed, he will come to India and start his operations of a middleman," Agrawal said in his written submissions.
CBI’s failure to extradite him
The CBI had, in October 2009, sought permission of the court to withdraw the case against Quattrocchi, saying that his continued prosecution was "unjustified" in the light of various factors including the agency's failed attempts to extradite him.
The agency had failed twice in getting him extradited-- first from Malaysia in 2003 and then from Argentina in 2007. He is accused of allegedly receiving a payoff for brokering the Bofors gun deal.
The agency had registered a criminal case on January 20, 1990 to probe who were the beneficiaries of the payoffs in the 1986 deal.
After completing its probe, the agency had filed two charge sheets in the case -- first on October 22, 1999 and the other on October 9, 2000.
The CBI had contended that there was no change in the government's stand on withdrawing the case against Quattrocchi in the wake of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) order, which had said that kickbacks of Rs 61 crore were paid to late Win Chaddha and Quattrocchi in the Howitzer gun deal.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod Yadav, while passing a 70-page order, observed that it will be in the best interest of the public that this case be closed as the investigation seems to be heading in no direction.
The court also based its judgement on the grounds that “the excessive delay” in extraditing 70-year-old Quattrocchi has weakened the case so it would be most appropriate to close the case. Quattrocchi has never appeared before any court in India to face trial.
CBI working in collusion with Quattrocchi: Petitioner
Reacting to the verdict, advocate Ajay K Agrawal, the main petitioner in the case, said, “We will appeal against the verdict in the higher court.”
Perturbed over the court’s judgement, he said, “The CBI has enough evidence against the Italian businessman but it is working in collusion with him.”
He further lamented that if the CBI’s argument of “excessive delay” becomes the basis for a major judgment like this and sustains in future, then amnesty will have to be given to lakhs of people, who have been languishing in Indian jails, against whom the trail is pending in various courts.
Aggarwal also rubbished CBI’s argument that Rs 250 crores has been wasted so far in the case. Quoting a former CBI director, Aggarwal told reporters that so far only Rs 5 crore has been spent and the CBI’s remarks about the same are “superfluous.”
Attacking the judicial system in India, Aggarwal said, “The courts in India have always favoured Quattrochhi. The CBI has been used as a tool by the ruling side and also by the courts to favour the Italian businessman.”
Agrawal, who had opposed the agency's move, had earlier filed the written arguments alleging Massimo Quattrocchi, son of the Italian businessman, has been visiting India "almost every month for 8 to 10 days and still doing a middleman's job as was earlier done by his father."
"The CBI application does not fulfil the three basic requirements that is bonafide, good faith and public interest and that the government and the CBI are in collusion with Quattrocchi and the plea is filed to bail him out and if it is allowed, he will come to India and start his operations of a middleman," Agrawal said in his written submissions.
CBI’s failure to extradite him
The CBI had, in October 2009, sought permission of the court to withdraw the case against Quattrocchi, saying that his continued prosecution was "unjustified" in the light of various factors including the agency's failed attempts to extradite him.
The agency had failed twice in getting him extradited-- first from Malaysia in 2003 and then from Argentina in 2007. He is accused of allegedly receiving a payoff for brokering the Bofors gun deal.
The agency had registered a criminal case on January 20, 1990 to probe who were the beneficiaries of the payoffs in the 1986 deal.
After completing its probe, the agency had filed two charge sheets in the case -- first on October 22, 1999 and the other on October 9, 2000.
The CBI had contended that there was no change in the government's stand on withdrawing the case against Quattrocchi in the wake of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) order, which had said that kickbacks of Rs 61 crore were paid to late Win Chaddha and Quattrocchi in the Howitzer gun deal.
