SC order paves way for closure of Quattrocchi case

The more than 10-month-old plea by the Central Bureau of Investigation to give a clean chit to Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi in the Rs 65-crore Bofors kickback scam is expected to gather pace as the Supreme Court on Tuesday removed a major impediment for proceedings before the trial court.

The Supreme Court ordered transfer of the records from the apex court to the trial court in New Delhi. The CBI had sought transfer of the records to the lower court, where closure of the proceedings against Quattrocchi was repeatedly halted for want of such records.

The trial court had been adjourning hearing on the CBI's plea filed under Section 321 of the Criminal Procedure Code to withdraw prosecution against Quattrocchi as the trial court records of the Bofors case were lying in the apex court.

The Supreme Court had asked for the trial court records in connection with the hearing on an appeal filed by advocate Ajay Agrawal challenging a 2005 judgment of the Delhi high court quashing charges against the Hinduja brothers. Agrawal had filed the appeal after the CBI did not challenge the high court order.

''We direct that the aforesaid records be sent to the trial court forthwith. The same should be sent back as soon as the case in the trial court is decided or whenever this court decides to call it back,'' said a Supreme Court bench comprising justices H S Bedi and C K Prasad.

The investigating agency pressed for the transfer of such records two days after chief metropolitan magistrate Kaveri Baweja had adjourned the case and posted the hearing on August 28 as the requisite records were with the apex court.