Win Chadha to be examined by AIIMS panel tomorrow

The order was issued in the wake of submissions made by Special Prosecutor N Natarajan that demanding that a panel of doctors of AIIMS give their opinion on whether Chadha could be treated for his ailments in India.

Chadha’s counsel Gopal Subramaniam submitted that his client was suffering from various ailments like hypertension, diabetes and heart disease and should be allowed to go back to Dubai for his treatments by his regular consultants.

Subramaniam said since the trial was likely to take some time, Chadha should be allowed to appear before the court through his counsel unless his personal appearance was necessary.

Suspecting the bonafide of his application, Natarajan said Chadha did not come to the court on his own and should not be allowed to go back to Dubai. Chadha, who was granted bail by the court on March 21 on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 2 lakh and a surety of the like amount, also sought court’s direction to the CBI to return his passport.

Chadha, based in Dubai, came to India on March 18 to face trial in the case after eluding arrest by the CBI for the last 12 years.

The CBI alleged that the Bofors company had paid a huge amount of bribe to middlemen and public servants to clinch the deal worth Rs 1,437 crore for the supply of 400-155 mm Howitzer field guns with India in March 1986 despite its undertaking that no middleman would be engaged for the purpose.

After filing of the chargesheet by the CBI on October 22 last year, so far Chadha and Defence Secretary S K Bhatnagar, also on bail, have appeared before the court to face trial.

The other accused yet to appear before the court are Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, based in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and former Bofors company chief Martin Ardbo. The company itself has been arraigned as an accused in the case.

The court had on April 26 issued a fresh non-bailable arrest warrant against Ardbo and asked the agency to find out the real successor of the Bofors company so that action could be initiated against it. The case would come up for hearing on June 1, the next date of hearing.

CBI counsel had earlier told the court that the agency had approached the Malaysian authorities for Quattrocchi’s extradition as he failed to appear before it despite an NBW pending against him.