A public interest litigation was filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday challenging the government's move to write to British authorities that the frozen accounts of Bofors payoff accused Ottavio Quattrocchi may be unlocked.
Advocate Ajay Agarwal moved the PIL seeking direction for the government to produce the letter/authority given to Britain's Crown Prosecution Service.
The PIL asked under whose instruction Additional Solicitor General B Dutta visited London on December 22 to submit that the CBI had found no evidence to link the money stashed in Quattrocchi's two bank accounts -- Euro 3 million and $1 million respectively -- with the Bofors payoff case.
In the petition, the advocate said the government should be stopped from making any such plea before the CPS since the case was pending before a designated court in India.
Maintaining that the CBI on December 20 had stated before the chief metropolitan magistrate that all efforts were being made to bring Quattrocchi to stand trial in the case, he sought a direction for the agency to produce all documents and evidence against him.
The advocate also asked how the law minister could give statements to the media that there was no evidence against Quattrocchi even when a Interpol Red Corner notice was still valid.
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