New Delhi, September 30: The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it had decided to withdraw the case against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, an accused in the Rs. 64-crore Bofors pay-offs case, which is pending before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court here.
Solicitor-General Gopal Subramaniam made this submission before a Bench of Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan and Justices P. Sathasivam and B.S. Chauhan.
He said all efforts to extradite Mr. Quattrocchi from Malaysia and Argentina had failed and the Red Corner Notice issued against him was also revoked.
The case was coming up for hearing before the CMM on October 3 and the CBI would file an application for closure of the case.
He said that in February 2004, the Delhi High Court cleared Mr. Quatrrocchi of under the Corruption Act.
“What is the purpose in keeping the case alive when nothing survives in the case?” The government, conscious of all the facts, came to the decision to withdraw the prosecution against Quattrocchi.
Advocate Ajay Agrawal, who filed a petition in 2006 against the defreezing of Mr. Quattrocchi’s bank account in London, questioned the government stand.
—Agencies