The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to place before it an Argentine court's order declining India's request for extradition of Bofors case accused Ottavio Quattrocchi.
The direction was issued by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan after PIL petitioner advocate Ajay Agrawal alleged that the Indian Government withdrew the appeal from the Argentine Supreme Court against an El Dorado court's verdict rejecting India's extradition request enabling Quattrocchi to fly to Italy as a free man. Agrawal showed newspaper reports to make his point but the bench said it wanted to see the Argentine court's order.
Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium submitted that the government was ready to place an English translation of the El Dorado court's order. He said the petitioner could not drag on the matter like this.
The court directed the government to furnish a copy of English translation of the order and posted the matter for hearing after four weeks. Agrawal has sought a direction from the Centre and CBI to place before the court all documents relating to the proceedings of Quattrocchi's extradition and why the government chose to withdraw its appeal from the Argentine Supreme Court.
Solanki plea rejected: In a releted development, the Delhi High Court refused to quash criminal proceedings against former External Affairs Minister Madhavsinh Solanki, initiated by the CBI, in the Bofors case.
Meanwhile, the BJP’s Arun Jaitely alleged Congress governments have repeatedly “subverted” the CBI to compel it to actively cooperate and collude with accused Ottavio Quatrocchi. “The Congress’s effort is to give the truth in the Bofors case a judicial burial,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, the BJP’s Arun Jaitely alleged Congress governments have repeatedly “subverted” the CBI to compel it to actively cooperate and collude with accused Ottavio Quatrocchi. “The Congress’s effort is to give the truth in the Bofors case a judicial burial,” he said.
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