Court to hold fresh proceedings in Quattrocchi case

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court today decided to hold the proceedings afresh on CBI's plea to withdraw more than two-decade-old Bofors pay-off case against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja, who had earlier reserved its order and deferred the pronouncement of its verdict on eight occasions, decided to hear the argument afresh as the trial court record, lying with the Supreme Court, was received two days ago.

The court fixed September 9 for hearing the arguments of the investigating agency and a lawyer who has filed the application challenging CBI's decision to close the case against Quattrocchi.

During the brief hearing of around two minutes Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra and the advocate, opposing CBI plea, Ajay Agrawal were present in the court.

The court had earlier deferred the hearings on October 9, November 6 and 24 last year and March 31, April 17, May 15, July 5 this year.

Quattrocchi, the sole surviving accused in the case after the Delhi High Court quashed the charges on May 31, 2005, against other accused, has never appeared before any court in the country.

The CBI had on October 3 filed a plea in the court seeking withdrawal of case against Quattrocchi. The court had since then deferred the hearing on the matter.

CBI had failed on two occasions in its attempt to get Quattrocchi extradited -- first from Malaysia in 2003 and then from Argentina in 2007.

In November last year, the agency had asked the Interpol to take Quattrocchi's name off the Red Corner notice list.