The Hindu : HC disposes of PIL on Airbus deal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 04, 2003

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HC disposes of PIL on Airbus deal

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI MARCH 3. The Delhi High Court today disposed of a public interest litigation seeking directions for the speedy disposal of the 12-year-old probe into the Rs. 4,200-crore Airbus-320 planes deal of 1986.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Usha Mehra and Justice Pradeep Nandrajog did so after perusing a status report on the progress of the investigation filed by the CBI and submission by counsel for the Union Government that the agency was seriously pursuing the foreign part of the probe through letters rogatory.

Counsel for the Government submitted that a response to a letter rogatory issued by a special CBI court here to the French Government was awaited.

The CBI said in its status report that LRs had already been issued to the authorities concerned in France, Switzerland and other countries.

The matter has been pending with the investigating agency for the past 12 years as the deal had been struck by the then Rajiv Gandhi Government in 1986.

The case was registered in March 1990 following allegation of irregularities in the deal with the French company, Airbus Industries. It was alleged that the decision to place the supply order of 31 A-320 planes with Airbus Industries was taken at the last moment after the Government had advanced a huge amount to Boeing of America for purchasing 12 aircraft in 1985.

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