The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to quash criminal action initiated by the CBI against former External Affairs Minister Madhavsinh Solanki for allegedly fabricating false evidence in the Bofors case and handing it over to Swiss authorities.Solanki had approached the HC challenging the issuance of a notice by the CBI judge in June 2003 on an application filed by the investigating agency, accusing him of preparing a fake memorandum and handing it over to then Swiss Foreign Minister Rene Felber in an effort to “interfere” in the course of investigation.The CBI had appealed to the Special Court, seeking permission to prosecute Solanki under Section 193 (fabricating false evidence) of the IPC.As per the CBI report, Solanki had sought an appointment with Felber during a visit to Davos in Switzerland between January and February, 1992, for the Annual World Economic Conference.The report says Solanki told Felber that there was “new information about the Bofors case and it was important for him to establish communication with the Swiss Government”. In reply, the Felber allegedly agreed to either pass the “unsigned typed memorandum” to the Swiss Federal Office of Justice, or if not, for Solanki to approach the justice ministry itself. According to the CBI, the document “with false statement of facts” was a deliberate attempt by Solanki to divert the attention of the investigation, which had at the point of time reached a crucial stage.
