The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition challenging the Delhi High Court’s 2005 ruling that had quashed criminal proceedings against the Hinduja brothers in the Bofors payoff case, thereby concluding the long-pending appeal filed by advocate Ajay K Agrawal.
A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Vinod K Chandran declined to adjourn the matter and refused to hear any further arguments.
Appearing virtually, the petitioner requested four weeks to remove the names of respondents who had since passed away, stating, “I’m seeking four weeks’ time for deletion of the names, as respondent nos. 1 and 4 have expired.”
Justice Pardiwala questioned why the matter continued to remain pending, saying, “What is all this about the Hinduja brothers and the CBI?”
When informed that the Delhi high court had exonerated the accused and quashed the proceedings, Justice Pardiwala said, “All proceedings were quashed. What is this? How many years have passed?”
The petitioner replied that “The deal occurred in 1986.” When another counsel sought to intervene with submissions, Justice Pardiwala made it clear that the court would not grant any postponement.
“No question of adjournment. It is a 2018 matter,” he stated.
Counsel appearing in the case argued that a separate appeal filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation had earlier been dismissed by the Supreme Court on the ground that the agency was already a respondent in the present petition and could raise all its contentions herein.
In a landmark judgment delivered on May 31, 2005, the Delhi High Court exonerated Srichand, Gopichand and Prakash Hinduja, along with AB Bofors, of all criminal charges. The court identified serious deficiencies in the prosecution’s evidence and held that the CBI had failed to establish any direct involvement of the Hinduja brothers in securing the 1986 gun deal or to prove that the money allegedly received by them was linked to illegal commissions.
The High Court observed that the documents obtained by the CBI from Swedish authorities were neither original records nor authenticated copies. It noted that relying on such unauthenticated material to prosecute the accused would amount to a waste of public time and money and would be unfair to those facing trial.
The judgment also levelled strong criticism at the CBI investigation, which reportedly cost the exchequer around Rs 250 crore. Following the ruling, the Hinduja brothers were discharged from the case and their bail bonds were ordered to be returned, thereby concluding a legal battle that had stretched for nearly 14 years.
Bureau Report
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