SC dismisses urea scam accused wife's petition

With 63-year old Brazil-born multi-crore urea scam accused A E Pinto having died, the Supreme Court Monday dismissed as "infructuous" the petition earlier filed by his wife Eugenia Teles seeking adequate medical treatment for him.

With 63-year old Brazil-born multi-crore urea scam accused A E Pinto having died, the Supreme Court Monday dismissed as "infructuous" the petition earlier filed by his wife Eugenia Teles seeking adequate medical treatment for him.

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A Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and R M Lodha dismissed the petition after taking on record the fact that the accused, who was facing the trial for the past 12 years, died on May 24.

The apex court had on April 12 directed the special judge, dealing with the Rs 133 crore urea scam that had rocked the P V Narasimha Rao government, to complete the trial within four months.

It had also asked the investigating agency CBI to meet "whatever reasonable medical expenses" of Pinto, one of the key accused in the case.

The bench had passed the direction on an application moved by Eugenia Teles pleading that the accused had no financial resources to meet his medical treatment at a private hospital in the city for multiple health problems.

Pinto was extradited to India from London after his arrest in 1997 for being the alleged recipient of 1.2 million US dollar kickbacks in the non-existent deal with Turkish firm Karsan.

He was in jail for over five years before being released on bail in February 2003 on condition that he would not leave Delhi until the trial by the special CBI court was completed.

Pinto was earlier permitted by the trial court to leave the country for medical treatment abroad provided he furnished a bank guarantee of Rs 40 lakh, which he could not do.

In the meantime, he suffered a paralytic stroke and developed multiple health problems, following which he was shifted to a private nursing home.

Pinto's wife, who is in London, moved an application through counsel Wills Mathews before the apex court pleading that since the accused was bankrupt, CBI should be asked to bear the expenses which had shot up to Rs 1.20 lakh.

She also submitted Pinto was under tremendous mental and physical trauma as the trial was yet to be completed though it had commenced in November 2002.

However, even as CBI took steps to render him medical assistance, he died.