Win Chadha plea to cancel NBW deferred till Jan 20

Chadha had challenged the NBW issued against him by the court on December 14 last, on the ground that the summons issued to him earlier were not served on him.

The court had issued arrest warrants against Chadha, a former A B Bofors agent, after he failed to appear in the court following issuance of summons on November four.

Chadha, accused of receiving a part of the Rs 64 crore pay-off in the Rs 1,437 crore gun deal with the Swedish firm, in his application had said that he was ready to appear in the court and face trial but his passport had been impounded by Indian consulate general in Dubai on April 4, 1990.

Subramaniam claimed that no summons was served on Chadha by the CBI and the agency obtained NBW from the court on the basis of the “misrepresentation of facts” in this regard.

While pleading for cancellation of the NBW, Chadha’s counsel had submitted that fresh summons should be issued to his client and the authorities be directed to served it through the proper channel in UAE.

He said CBI knew that Chadha’s passport had been impounded in 1990 and he cannot travel to India without the valid documents.

CBI counsel Natarajan had said the purpose of issuing summons to an accused was just to inform him about the case, and if Chadha was a law abiding person, he should have responded to the court’s directive.

CBI in its chargesheet had named Italian businessman Otavio Quattrochhi, former defence secretary S K Bhatnagar and former A B Bofors president Martin Ardbo, besides Chadha as accused.

It had also named late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi as an accused in column-two of the chargesheet meant for those not sent for trial.

The A B Bofors company, now renamed Celsius, was also made an accused by the investigating agency.

The court had also issued fresh NBW against Quattrochhi, presently based in Malaysia, for the second time on November four following filing of the chargesheet by CBI on October 22.

Quattrochhi, in a statement issued from Kuala Lumpur after filing of the chargesheet, dismissed it as a "document full of lies" and "politically motivated."