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AgustaWestland case: Court rejects Ratul Puri’s plea to cancel NBW
New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday declined to cancel the non-bailable warrant (NBW) that it had issued for the arrest of Ratul Puri, the nephew of Madhya Pradesh
New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday declined to cancel the non-bailable warrant (NBW) that it had issued for the arrest of Ratul Puri, the nephew of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath, in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the Rs.3,600 crore AugustaWestland helicopter deal.
Puri, who is already in custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a separate Rs 354-crore bank fraud case, had moved court on Friday, seeking cancellation of the NBW and saying he was willing to join the investigation of the AgustaWestland deal.
The court’s order came a day after Delhi high court dismissed his anticipatory bail plea, saying his custodial interrogation was “required for an effective investigation”. Justice Sunil Gaur said Puri was evasive in his replies during questioning by the ED and it was evident from witness statements provided to the court that he was trying to influence them.
Special judge Arvind Kumar had on August 9 issued the NBW against Puri, noting the ED’s submissions that the businessman may try to tamper with evidence and influence the witnesses “as he already did earlier”.
The court, while declining Puri’s plea, noted ED’s submission that Puri had not joined the investigation on different dates despite repeated notices from the agency. “He has made himself unavailable and his whereabouts could not be ascertained,” said the court.
“Thus considering the overall facts and circumstances, I do not find any ground for cancellation of NBW issued against accused Ratul Puri,” ordered special judge Arvind Kumar.
Puri’s name surfaced in the AgustaWestland case after a diary recovered from alleged defence dealer Sushen Mohan Gupta indicated his links, according to the ED. It showed that Puri was in receipt of the proceeds of crime, the agency said.
Responding to Court’s order, Puri’s counsel, advocate Vijay Aggarwal said, “It is a consequential order in view of the dismissal of his anticipatory bail by the Delhi high court.”
Puri’s company, Hindustan Powerprojects Private Ltd declined to comment. The company had earlier denied that Puri played any role in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.
The court of special judge Sanjay Garg on Tuesday sent Puri to six days’ custodial interrogation of ED in connection with the Rs 354-crore bank fraud case filed by the Central Bank of India.
The AgustaWestland case is centred on allegations that bribes were paid to “middlemen”, perhaps even politicians, when India agreed to buy 12 of the helicopters built by Italian defence manufacturing giant Finmeccanica (now known as the Leonardo group) at an estimated cost of ~3,600 crore.
The purchase, cleared in 2010 by the previous United Progressive Alliance(UPA) government, envisaged replacing ageing Mi-8 choppers to ferry VVIPs such as the president, vice-president, prime minister and the other dignitaries. It was cancelled in January 2014 after the allegations of bribery surfaced.
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