Cbi May Seek Fresh Warrants Against Chadha

The CBI may seek fresh arrest warrants against Bofors agent Win Chadha, following yesterdays Supreme Court order declaring the investigating agencys appeal against the Delhi High Court order infructuous.

A division bench consisting of Justice M K Mukherjee, Justice G T Nanavati and Justice B N Kirpal accepted the plea of additional solicitor general Altaf Ahmed that the Centre proposed to seek issuance of fresh arrest warrants against Chadha in view of the changed circumstances after the first arrest warrant issued by the Delhi High Court in 1992. The CBI has also been given a free hand to approach the Delhi special court for seeking issuance of fresh arrest warrants against Chadha, who is now in Dubai.

The earlier arrest warrants were obtained in 1990, before Chaddha was named for gun deals. He has now been named in Swiss documents received by the CBI as a recipient of payments.

Ahmed told the court that he had been given written instructions by the government to inform the court about its intention to move the appropriate courts afresh for issuance of arrest warrants and he was therefore requesting the court to record the statement in view of the fact that the governments challenge against the earlier high court order was pending disposal before the court. After this statement, the court disposed of the case as infructuous.

The High Court, while quashing the earlier arrest warrants issued by a Delhi special court in 1990, had held that they were unwarranted since Chadha was not required at that point of time by the police for being arrested as an accused. The CBI had appealed against this to the apex court.