Arjun, Khurana Plead For Dropping Of Hawala Charges

Former Union minister Arjun Singh and former Delhi Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana yesterday pleaded the designated trial court to drop charges against them in the Rs 65 crore hawala case, following the Delhi High Court order dismissing the admissiblity of Jain diaries as evidence.

Senior lawyer Arun Jaitley appearing for Khurana, who had been charged by CBI of receiving Rs three lakh as illegal gratification from Jain brothers, told special judge V B Gupta that in view of the High Court order quashing the charges against BJP chief L K Advani and former Union minister V C Shukla, no charges could be framed against him. Jaitley said that since the High Court had refused to admit the Jain diaries, note books and loose sheets of papers on which the alleged payment to some persons had been mentioned, as evidence, there was no point to arugue further on the charge and the same should be dropped against his client.Reading out from the High Court order, Jaitley said there was no need to file separate application in this regard. Gupta posted the matter to April 21 as the senior prosecution (CBI) counsel Baljit Singh, who had been arguing in the trial court, was not present. Arjun Singh in a similar plea submitted that there was no legal evidence after the High Court order on the basis of which charges could be framed against him.

His counsel, Gurdial Singh, contended that after exclusion of the diaries by the High Court, nothing remained on which the prosecution could continue.

Further arguments on Singhs application will be heard on April 22.