CBI decides to withdraw all cases against Quattrocchi

NEW DELHI: The two-decade old Bofors payoff case may finally be buried with the Centre on Tuesday telling the Supreme Court that it has decided to withdraw case against Italian Businessmen Ottavio Quattrocchi.

Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium told a bench, headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishanan, that all efforts to extradite Quattrocchi, an accused in the case relating to payment of Rs 64 crore as commission in the Howitzer deal, have failed.

He said the CBI has taken the decision to close the case by also taking into account Delhi High Court judgement of 2004 which had held that no case of corruption was made out in the Bofors deal.

Subramanium said the government came to the decision after taking into account all the facts of the case.

The Solicitor General's statement in the court came under immediate attack from the BJP and the lawyer who is pursuing the Bofors case in the Supreme Court while the Congress Party said that after all the case has to come to a closure.

The Supreme Court will hear the matter on December 11.

On September 8, the CBI had sought two weeks' time before a Delhi court for exploring the options available to it in the Bofors payoff case after the withdrawal of Red Corner notice against Italian Businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi.