Bofors: Court to hear CBI’s plea on April 7

A Delhi court on Saturday decided to hear on April 7, the CBI's plea seeking a direction to allow it to go for further probe into the politically sensitive Rs 64-crore Bofors payoff case.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ashu Garg deferred the hearing as the documents and records pertaining to the matter were not available with the court and were in the Supreme Court.

The documents were provided to the apex court as it has been seized of an appeal filed by BJP leader Ajay Agrawal challenging the May 31, 2005 verdict of the Delhi High Court quashing all charges against the accused.

Agrawal, who contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Rae Bareli against the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi, had filed the appeal in the apex court after the CBI had failed to challenge the high court verdict in the top court within the mandatory 90 days period.

The CBI had on February 1, moved the trial court seeking permission for further probe into the matter saying it had come across fresh material and evidence.

A day after the agency had also filed an appeal against the high court decision in the Supreme Court. After the CBI, the BJP leader had also moved the trial court supporting the plea of the probe agency in the case. The court will also consider, on the next date of hearing, his plea asking it to grant permission to the CBI to reinvestigate the case. The agency had swung into action to approach the trial court and the apex court after the attorney general orally gave it a go ahead to file the appeal in the case in which it cited the October 2017 interview of private detective Michael Hershman, who alleged that the then Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government had sabotaged his probe.