Bofors case: Delhi Court adjourns hearing till Jan. 6

New Delhi, Jan 4 (ANI): A lower court in Delhi on Tuesday adjourned till Thursday the hearing of the Bofors payoff case closure plea by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The CBI in its plea before the Tis Hazari Court said that continued prosecution of Quattrocchi was "unjustified" in the light of lack of evidence, and hence the failed attempts to extradite him.

However, the lawyer opposing the CBI plea, Ajay Agarwal, claimed he has proof that the CBI has a lot of evidence against Quattrocchi.

An income tax tribunal in its order issued yesterday, indicated how much money Quattrocchi and Win Chaddha were paid by Bofors as bribes.

The kickbacks violated rules, as a middleman is illegal in defence deals in India. Therefore, Quattrocchi and Chaddha are liable to pay income tax on bribe money they got while living in India.

It also claimed that due to the kickbacks, India had to pay almost Rs. 160 crore extra for the guns.

The Bofors scandal was a major corruption scandal in India in the 1980s. The then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and several others were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB who were awarded the contract for the supply of 155 mm field howitzers.

The scale of the corruption was far worse than any that India had seen before, and contributed to the defeat of Gandhi's ruling Indian National Congress party in the November 1989 general elections. (ANI)