The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Friday, January 19, 2001,
Chandigarh, India

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Hindujas arrive to face trial
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Jan 18 — The arclights would once again focus on the Bofors case tomorrow with the Hinduja brothers set to appear before the designated court, almost 16 years after the ink on the controversial gun deal with A.B. Bofors dried up.

The three Hinduja brothers, chargesheeted in the Rs 64 crore Bofors case for allegedly receiving payoff from the Swedish arms manufacturers, arrived in the country today after almost a decade of self-imposed exile and the immediate detention notice hanging on their head.

Decks for the appearance of the Hinduja brothers — G.P. Hinduja, P.P. Hinduja and S.P. Hinduja — were cleared after the CBI, which filed the charge sheet, asked the immigration authorities not to detain or arrest them on their arrival in India.

The Hindujas, who are rated as one of the richest families of Indian expatriates in Britain, have been charged with receiving payoff in the 155mm gun deal with the Swedish firm A.B. Bofors.

The CBI designated court had issued summons to the Hindujas asking them to appear before it on January 19 after taking cognizance of the charge sheet, which alleged they had received 81 million Swedish kroners from Bofors which bagged the Rs 1437 crore gun contract in 1986.

Mr Ujjawal Rana, counsel for the business magnate, said all the three Hinduja brothers would appear before the Special Judge Mr Ajit Bharihoke, tomorrow.

“They will appear before the court tomorrow. They firmly believe the allegations made against them in the Bofors case were false and motivated,” the lawyer said.

He said Hindujas were not the persons who would run away from the judicial persons and were of the view the law would take its own course.

The Hindujas had sought permission to appear before the court on separate dates on the ground that their business, spread over four continents and employing over 25,000 people, might suffer if all of them were held up in court on a single date.

The Hindujas, while expressing their willingness to appear before the court in pursuance of the summonses, had sought exemption from personal appearance in future.

The charge sheet against the Hinduja brothers came almost a year after the first one filed by the CBI on October 22, 1999, naming Kuala Lumpur-based Italian businessman Quattrocchi, NRI businessman Win Chadha, former Defence Secretary S.K. Bhatnagar, then Bofors company chief Martin Ardbo and the company itself as accused.

Bharat Shah’s bail plea rejected

MUMBAI, Jan 18 (PTI) — In a dramatic development, film financier Bharat Shah, held on charge of alleged nexus with the underworld, today did not press for liberty following which the Mumbai High Court rejected his bail petition.

In a related development, Mr Shah was remanded in police custody till January 22 by a special court which also allowed the police to seize properties of two absconding accused to compel their presence. The high court had suggested extension of his remand till January 22 as it was seized of his bail petition.

Mr Justice S.S. Parkar had started delivering his verdict on Mr Shah’s bail plea yesterday after hearing hectic arguments for three days but did not conclude. When the court assembled today, his lawyer, Mr Amit Desai, informed he was not pressing for bail.

The judge, however, upheld the arguments of Mr Shah’s counsel that the accused had a constitutional right to know the grounds of his arrest. Unless he knew the charge against him, an accused could neither press for bail nor oppose his remand, the court opined.

The court observed that Mr Shah had a right to have access to the fir and remand application but he could not be shown the portions therein which disclosed the identity of the witnesses or any other information likely to hamper the investigations.