press trust of india
New Delhi, Feb 2: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Friday filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging a 2005 order of the Delhi High Court quashing all charges against the accused in the Bofors pay-off case.
The appeal assumes significance as Attorney General KK Venugopal had recently advised the agency against moving a petition against the high court verdict after a delay of 12 years.
Sources, however, said that after consultations, law officers were in favour of the appeal as the CBI came out with “some important documents and evidence” to challenge the high court order.
The CBI filed the appeal against the May 31, 2005, decision of the high court by which all accused, including Europe-based industrialists Hinduja brothers, were discharged from the `64-crore pay-off case. Earlier, the attorney general had advised the CBI to make out a case as a respondent in the petition filed by BJP leader Ajay Agarwal, who had challenged the 2005 high court order after the agency failed to file a special leave petition (appeal) within the mandatory time limit of 90 days.
However, a crucial hearing in the case did not take place Friday in the Supreme Court as the matter did not reach the board.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud had to hear the case in which it had asked Agarwal to explain his locus in filing petition as a third party. The same bench ended the day by hearing the PILs on special judge BH Loya’s death. Agarwal and the CBI waited for the matter to come till 4 pm when the bench rose for the day. Reports said the matter will now be heard Saturday.
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