India allowed to take part in Quattrocchi case

KUALA LUMPUR, SEPT. 6. Malaysia's high court today allowed the Government of India to participate in the case of the Italian businessman, Mr. Ottavio Quattrocchi's extradition to India to stand trial in the Bofors case.

Under the ruling, the Government of India will now be allowed to respond to Mr. Quattrocchi's allegations. He says he is being made a scapegoat in a politically-motivated case. The extradition trial, which has been mired in legal arguments for months, is scheduled to begin on October 22.

The court's decision means that Mr. Quattrocchi, 62, will be up against both the Malaysian Government prosecutors and lawyers for the Government of India in his legal fight.

Mr. Quattrocchi's lawyers claim that the Malaysian authorities never explained why he had been arrested, contrary to the extradition law, which states that a suspect has the right to know the substance of the charges against him. Mr. Quattrocchi, who has lived in Malaysia for several years, was arrested in Kuala Lumpur in December after India asked Malaysia to extradite him.

CBI hails ruling

Terming the verdict as significant, the Central Bureau of Investigation said in New Delhi that the ruling could help in his early arrival to the country to ``untie some knots'' of the Rs. 64-crore Bofors pay-off case.

- AP, PTI

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Section  : International
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