AgustaWestland case: CBI court issues notice to FRRO for non compliance of order

A special CBI court has issued notice to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) for non-compliance of the order cancelling the Look Out Circular (LoC) against Shivani Saxena, an accused in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland money-laundering case.

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar on Wednesday directed the FRRO to authorise an officer from the department to appear before the court on the next date of hearing on March 26.

The court also asked the FRRO to file a compliance report in connection with the order.

Shivani Saxena's counsel Shivani Lohiya Luthra and Prateek Yadav had approached the court against the FRRO for non-compliance of the order of March 6 cancelling the LoC against their client.

They argued that despite the court order, FRRO officials allegedly harassed Shivani Saxena at the IGI airport here while she was on her way home in Dubai.

On March 6, the special judge had said, "The LoC is not sustainable in the eyes of the law and liable to be cancelled."

Shivani Saxena is the wife of AgustaWestland deal accused Rajiv Saxena who recently moved a plea to turn approver in the case.

She is the director of two Dubai-based firms M/s UHY Saxena and M/s Matrix Holdings and is currently on regular bail with the condition to take prior permission from the court if she wants to travel abroad.

On Tuesday, the special judge had directed the Tihar jail authorities to move alleged middlemen Christian Michel in the deal out of solitary confinement.

Michel, who was extradited from the UAE in December last year, is currently lodged in the prison in connection with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) cases against him.

In 2014, India had cancelled the contract with Finmeccanica's subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the Indian Air Force (IAF) over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of kickbacks in the deal.