New Delhi:
In a strong indictment of the lax progress in the Bofors pay-offs case, a Delhi court today pulled up the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) saying that the Bofors case had not moved an inch in the last 25 years.
The Tis Hazari court also asked the CBI whether there was any account of how much money had been spent in the case.
"We have not moved an inch in the last 25 years. Do we have any account of how much money is being spent on this case? Is this figure of Rs 250 crore, as mentioned by the Delhi High Court, correct? Can you give a rough figure?"
The CBI in its reply said, "It is not possible to give this figure at this point. We did not tell the High Court about the money spent."
The court's strong observations came during a hearing of whether the CBI should withdraw its case against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, the prime accused, in the Bofors pay-off case despite the Income Tax tribunal's revelations that he and late Win Chaddha got kickbacks in the deal.
The court also observed that all the statements of the Bofors case were recorded in 1996-97 when the BJP-led NDA was in power.