The Supreme Court on Thursday set a June deadline for the CBI to complete its probe into allegations of serious irregularities in the acquisition of 111 aircraft for Air India that had cost around Rs 70,000 crore during Praful Patel's tenure as civil aviation minister of the UPA government in 2005-06.
A bench headed by new Chief Justice J S Khehar also asked the investigative agency to look into the fresh allegations made by an NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), that Patel made Air India buy a biometric system for a hefty sum of Rs 1,000 crore.
"CBI shall take into consideration all the allegations made in the pleadings of the instant petition, and take a call thereon, based on the evidence collected. We hope and expect, that CBI will adhere to the time frame indicated to us, namely, June, 2017", the bench said.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, said that Canada's superior court has convicted a person for paying a bribe to the then minister for the purchase of a biometric system for a whopping Rs 1000 crore for the airline.
``CBI is already investigating the case and is likely to conclude the probe. PAC has also looked into it and report is filed in Parliament. What more do you want. We cannot hold their (CBI) arms. We must trust our agencies,'' the bench told Bhushan.
During the hearing, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi informed the bench that most of the allegations referred to in the petition are a result of adverse comments made by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament (PAC).
06/01/17 Business Today
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A bench headed by new Chief Justice J S Khehar also asked the investigative agency to look into the fresh allegations made by an NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), that Patel made Air India buy a biometric system for a hefty sum of Rs 1,000 crore.
"CBI shall take into consideration all the allegations made in the pleadings of the instant petition, and take a call thereon, based on the evidence collected. We hope and expect, that CBI will adhere to the time frame indicated to us, namely, June, 2017", the bench said.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, said that Canada's superior court has convicted a person for paying a bribe to the then minister for the purchase of a biometric system for a whopping Rs 1000 crore for the airline.
``CBI is already investigating the case and is likely to conclude the probe. PAC has also looked into it and report is filed in Parliament. What more do you want. We cannot hold their (CBI) arms. We must trust our agencies,'' the bench told Bhushan.
During the hearing, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi informed the bench that most of the allegations referred to in the petition are a result of adverse comments made by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament (PAC).
06/01/17 Business Today
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