Court allows CBI to withdraw plea seeking permission to further probe Bofors deal

In the midst of election rhetoric over corruption in the Bofors gun deal, a special court here on Thursday allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to withdraw its application seeking permission to further probe the Rs 64-crore payoff in the contract.

Petitions were filed by the CBI and advocate Ajay Aggarwal for further probe into the politically sensitive deal.

However, the probe agency on Thursday informed the Rouse Avenue court that it wanted to withdraw the application.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Naveen Kashyap, while allowing the CBI to withdraw the application, questioned Aggarwal's locus standi in the matter.

Aggarwal also said that he wanted to take back his plea after which permission was granted by the court.

The next hearing in the matter will be on July 6.

Earlier, the CMM had asked as to "why does the CBI need the court's permission to proceed with further investigation in the matter" and directed the probe agency to place on record case laws to show that it required the court's nod.

On November 2 last year, the Supreme Court had dismissed a CBI petition challenging a 2005 Delhi High Court verdict quashing all charges against the three Hinduja brothers - SP Hinduja, GP Hinduja and PP Hinduja - and others in the Bofors case.

The petition was dismissed as the appeal became time-barred, the court had said.

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had evoked Congress anger by saying that late Rajiv Gandhi started as a "Mr Clean" in Indian politics and ended up as "Corrupt No 1" in a veiled reference to payoffs in the Bofors deal.

Congress hit back, saying that Modi was touching a new low by attacking the former Prime Minister who had sacrificed his life for the nation.