Private party can't oppose withdrawal of case against Quattrocchi: CBI

CBI today told a Delhi court that private parties have no "locus standi" to oppose its move to withdraw the case against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi in the Bofors pay-off case.

"Private persons (advocate Ajay K Agrawal and NGO 'Nirdhan Nishulk Kanooni Sahayata Samiti') have no locus standi under the Criminal Procedure Code to oppose the withdrawal of case by the prosecutors," additional solicitor general (ASG) P P Malhotra said.

Arguing before chief metropolitan magistrate Vinod Yadav, the ASG, who also cited various apex court judgments to buttress his arguments, said in such criminal cases, where the accused cannot be brought to face the trial, prosecutors were empowered to seek withdrawal of the case.

"The government of India has already approved of the withdrawal of the case against Quattrocchi by an order on September 28, 2009. More than 19 years in the case have already passed while several attempts to bring him to the country also failed," the ASG said.

Agrawal and Siddharth Gupta, counsel for Nirdhan Nishulk Kanooni Sahayata Samiti, opposed the plea of the probe agency saying the case pertained to "hard-earned" taxpayers' money.

"Please, do not advance political arguments. The court of a magistrate is strictly guided by the Criminal Procedure Code and satisfy me on the issue of your locus standi to object CBI's application," the court said.

"This is not the Supreme Court or the high court which have extra-ordinary jurisdictions to allow such contentions," the magistrate said.

Meanwhile, Agrawal sought an adjournment saying he could not prepare his arguments as his mother was seriously ill.

The court allowed the plea and fixed the matter for October 30 for hearing further arguments. The ASG, however, opposed the adjournment.

Earlier, the probe agency had said the attempts to extradite Quattrocchi had failed in Malaysia and Argentina. 

Quattrocchi, the sole surviving accused in the case after the Delhi High Court had quashed the charges on May 31, 2005, against other accused, has never appeared before any court in the country.

CBI had on October 3 last filed the plea in the court seeking withdrawal of case against Quattrocchi. The court had since then deferred the pronouncement of order on a number occasions in the matter.

CBI had failed on two occasions in its attempt to get Quattrocchi extradited -- first from Malaysia in 2003 and then from Argentina in 2007.