HC to hear on Quattrocchi matter on March 17

New Delhi, Feb 24 (UNI) The Delhi High Court today adjourned hearing on a petition seeking direction to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to explain the reasons for allowing the British Government to defreeze the London Bank accounts of Bofors Scam accused and Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi till March 17.

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition with amended prayers and list of respondents was listed for hearing today, but the division bench of Justice Vijender Jain and Justice R S Sodhi adjoured the matter for further arguments.

The Petition made Union of India through Secretary Ministry of Personnel, Secretary Department of Legal Affairs in Ministry of Law and Justice, Secretary Ministry of Home Affairs and Director CBI as respondents.

The petition filed by counsel and President Rashtriya Mukti Morcha Ravinder Kumar said, the court should issue direction to the CBI for allegedly acting in a mala fide manner to assist Quattrocchi to release about Rs 21 crore lying in two London bank accounts.

Due to the wrong advice and communication to the Crown Prosecutor in the United Kingdom, the money deposited in two accounts of the accused was released by the British government, alleged the petition.

''It appears the matter relating to the Bofors pay-off case pending before the trial court and was assigned to ASG Dutta to provide necessary advise,'' he said.

Despite knowing that the matter would come up for hearing on March 31, 2006 before the trial court, these officials had tendered wrong advice to the government, the petition said.

The bank accounts were frozen on the directions of the trial court and the CBI did not inform the court on the communication to the British government on the move to defeeze the accounts, it added.

''The step was not in accordance with law. It was illegal and abuse of power and authority as the CBI had not filed the report with the trial court to defreeze the accounts,'' the petition said.

UNI PAT VD RK1907