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SC orders Chhattisgarh to present files on ‘dodgy’ AgustaWestland chopper deal
A petition has alleged that the chopper was bought after heavy commission was paid and tendering rules were bypassed
The Supreme Court asked the Chhattisgarh government on Thursday for original documents related to the purchase of an AgustaWestland helicopter in 2007, which a petition has alleged was done in an unlawful manner.
“We want to be sure there was no fraud in purchasing these helicopters,” the judges told the lawyer for the Chhattisgarh government.
The top court asked the state to produce within a week the original file and declare on an affidavit the reason why objections from the then civil aviation principal secretary against the purchase were not taken into account.
“Was it disregarded or overridden?” the judges said, on the bureaucrat’s opinion that a different helicopter should be bought.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation that sought a special investigation into the purchase of the single helicopter, which was bought for VIP use in 2007-08.
The petition specifically seeks an investigation against chief minister Raman Singh.
“It was fraudulent tender and the ruling BJP paid hefty commission for the purchase of one chopper in 2007. The tender rules were seriously bypassed,” the petitioners charged as they linked Abhishek, Singh’s son, to the Panama Papers, a trove of secret documents that purported to show financial dealings of people in a tax haven.
