When can you complete Bofors case trial, SC asks CBI

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MAY 11. The Supreme Court today asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to indicate on May 12 the time required to complete the trial in the ``Bofors pay off'' case in which the three Hinduja brothers - Mr. S.P. Hinduja, Mr. G.P. Hinduja and Mr. P.P. Hinduja figure as accused, besides others.

A Bench comprising Mr. Justice M.B. Shah and Mr. Justice Y. K. Sabharwal, made the observation while adjourning till May 12, hearing on Special Leave Petitions from the Hinduja brothers against the Delhi High Court order rejecting their request for permission to go abroad pending trial.

Earlier, Mr. Kapil Sibal, Mr. P.P. Rao and Mr. Rajinder Singh, senior counsel appearing for the Hinduja brothers, submitted that most of the witnesses against the petitioners in the case were foreign-based and the completion of the trial might even take a few years.

Mr. N. Natarajan, senior counsel appearing for the CBI, said that if the Hinduja brothers cooperated, the trial might even be over within an year.

At this stage, the Bench observed that, considering the nature of the case, the record and the list of witnesses (about 95, some of whom are foreign-based) the trial might take even a few years to conclude. The Bench also asked whether the petitioners be permitted to go abroad with such conditions to ensure their presence in the country during trial.

When Mr. Natarajan expressed apprehension that the Hindujas might not return to India if the proceedings in trial went against them in view of their past conduct in connection with the case and that they acquired foreign citizenship, the Bench said that the petitioners appeared before the trial court at Delhi on their own and that, otherwise, it would have taken a few years to bring them to India.

The counsel for the petitioners submitted that the CBI's apprehension was baseless as they had invested over Rs. 10,000 crores in India and they had also strong social roots in this country.

The counsel for the petitioners pleaded that the Court could impose any suitable conditions to ensure their presence during trial and that they were prepared to give any such undertaking.

The petitioners' counsel said that if the High Court's order (challenged in the SLPs) was allowed to stand, it would amount to punishing the accused before the trial.

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