- Supreme Court dismissed last petition, ending four-decade Bofors case.
- Advocate’s appeal challenged Delhi High Court’s 2005 acquittal verdict.
- CBI’s previous appeal was dismissed due to 4,522-day delay.
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the final pending petition linked to the Bofors bribery case, bringing all legal proceedings in the nearly four-decade-old controversy to an end.
A Bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran declined to hear an appeal filed by advocate Ajay K. Agrawal. The petition challenged the Delhi High Court’s 2005 judgment that acquitted the Hinduja brothers and Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors of all charges.
With the latest order, the Supreme Court has effectively closed the last remaining legal avenue in one of India’s most high-profile corruption cases.
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Supreme Court Refuses To Extend Proceedings
During the hearing, the petitioner sought additional time to remove the names of Srichand P. Hinduja and Gopichand P. Hinduja from the appeal, noting that both had passed away.
The Supreme Court rejected the request, observing that the matter could not be prolonged any further.
The Bench said there was no justification for continuing the proceedings when the Delhi High Court had already quashed all charges and the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) appeal against that verdict had earlier been dismissed.
Delhi High Court Verdict Had Cleared All Accused
On May 31, 2005, the Delhi High Court acquitted the Hinduja brothers and AB Bofors of all charges in the case.
The High Court had also sharply criticised the CBI’s investigation, noting that nearly Rs 250 crore from the public exchequer had been spent on the probe.
In November 2018, the Supreme Court dismissed the CBI’s appeal against the High Court verdict after finding that the agency had delayed filing the petition by 4,522 days without providing a satisfactory explanation.
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What Was The Bofors case?
The Bofors case stemmed from a Rs 1,437 crore agreement signed on March 24, 1986, between the Government of India and Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors for the purchase of 400 howitzers for the Indian Army.
The controversy erupted in 1987 after Swedish Radio alleged that bribes had been paid to Indian politicians and defence officials to secure the deal.
The allegations triggered one of India’s biggest political scandals. With the Supreme Court’s latest decision, all legal proceedings related to the Bofors case have now come to a definitive close.
