New Delhi:
A Delhi court will take up CBI's plea to close the case against Ottavio Quattrocchi, the key accused in the Bofors scam today. The court had on Tuesday reserved its order on the plea.
The CBI has stuck to its stand even after the Income Tax Tribunal's order severely indicted Quattrochi.
The CBI had pleaded before the court on Tuesday that the ruling of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in Bofors pay offs case is "nothing new" and its application for withdrawing the proceedings against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi should be allowed. The hearing of the case was postponed to January 6.
Justifying its closure report, the CBI had earlier contended that it was difficult to secure presence of Quattrocchi for prosecution and that all other accused were either dead or charges against them had been quashed by the Delhi High Court.
The CBI had failed on two occasions in its attempt to get Quattrocchi extradited - first from Malaysia in 2003 and then from Argentina in 2007.
Last November, the agency had asked the Interpol to take Quattrocchi's name off the Red Corner notice list.