Defence Minister AK Antony will not depose in Italian court in Finmeccanica trial: sources

New Delhi/ Busto Arsizio, Italy: After an Italian judge today included Defence Minister AK Antony as a possible witness in a trial of former bosses of Italy's Finmeccanica over corruption in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland chopper deal, sources say India has ruled out his appearance in court.

A judge in the Italian city of Busto Arsizio had cleared the names of Mr Antony, former British Defence Minister Geoff Hoon and former Chairman of Tata Group, Ratan Tata, among 80 possible witnesses in the trial of former CEO of Finmeccanica, which had secured a deal with the Indian government for the supply of 12 helicopters to ferry VVIPs. Three of the helicopters had been delivered before corruption was reported in the deal.

Although reports said all the witnesses cleared by the judge may not be called to testify, high-level sources in the Defence Ministry said there was no question of Mr Antony giving evidence or appearing in any court outside India.

The trial has raised the prospect that Finmeccanica could be blacklisted in India, the world's largest arms importer and an important growth market for the state-owned aerospace and defence group.

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Prosecutors have accused ex-Finmeccanica Chairman Giuseppe Orsi of paying bribes to intermediaries to secure the deal in 2010 when he was head of AgustaWestland, the Finmeccanica unit that sold the helicopters.

Bruno Spagnolini, former CEO of AgustaWestland, is being tried alongside Mr Orsi on the same charges. Both deny wrongdoing.

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Defence lawyers requested Mr Hoon and Mr Tata to be admitted as witnesses to provide evidence on the defence industry in India. Mr Antony was being called to give testimony on the tendering process in India.

Mr Antony, who has a corruption-free image that sets him apart from many Indian politicians, was defence minister when the Indian Air Force awarded the contract to AgustaWestland.

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He is believed to favour blacklisting the firm but could be outvoted by cabinet colleagues who worry it could hamper defence purchases in the future, several government sources said.

The next hearing in the trial will be on September 17.

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At the very beginning of the trial, India had told the Italian court that its orders would not be binding on it and it will have the right to exercise all legal options available to it.