Bofors case: Supreme Court rejects petition challenging Hinduja brothers’ acquittal
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition seeking to overturn the 2005 Delhi High Court judgment that had quashed criminal proceedings against the Hinduja brothers and Swedish defence manufacturer AB Bofors in the long-running Bofors case.
A Bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran declined to entertain the appeal, bringing another legal attempt to revive the decades-old case to an end.
During the hearing, advocate Ajay K Agrawal requested four weeks to amend the petition by removing the names of Srichand P Hinduja and Gopichand P Hinduja, both of whom have passed away.
The Bench refused the request, observing that there was no reason to prolong the litigation further.
Justice Pardiwala questioned the purpose of continuing the proceedings when the Delhi High Court had already quashed the case in 2005 and the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) appeal against that decision had also failed.
High Court’s 2005 ruling
The Delhi High Court had, on May 31, 2005, cleared Srichand, Gopichand and Prakash Hinduja, along with AB Bofors, of all criminal charges linked to the controversial defence deal.
The court found significant shortcomings in the prosecution’s case, holding that the CBI failed to establish any direct involvement of the Hinduja brothers in securing the 1986 artillery contract or prove that the money allegedly received by them represented illegal commissions.
The High Court also observed that documents obtained from Swedish authorities were neither original records nor properly authenticated copies. It said relying on such material for prosecution would be unfair and would amount to wasting public resources.
CBI appeal failed
The High Court judgment was critical of the CBI’s investigation, which reportedly cost around ₹250 crore. Following the ruling, the Hinduja brothers were discharged from the case, and their bail bonds were returned, ending a legal battle that had lasted nearly 14 years.
In November 2018, the Supreme Court dismissed the CBI’s appeal against the High Court verdict, citing an unexplained delay of 4,522 days in filing the appeal.
Bofors case
The Bofors controversy dates back to March 24, 1986, when the Government of India signed a ₹1,437-crore agreement with Swedish defence company AB Bofors to procure 400 howitzers.
The deal became a major political controversy in 1987 after Swedish Radio alleged that illegal commissions had been paid to Indian politicians and defence officials to secure the contract.
With the Supreme Court’s latest decision, another attempt to reopen the case has come to an end.