Ottavio Quattrocchi is an accused in the Bofors case. The CBI was informed in 1993 that he is a beneficiary of the kickbacks in the Bofors gun deal. No action was permitted to be taken and he absconded from the country. He was close to the powers that be. His name is still held in awe in the corridors of power.

His accounts in a London Bank were frozen on July 25, 2003 by an order of the Queens High Court at London. Subsequently, the CBI asked for defreezing of the accounts on the ground that on account of some judgments of the Delhi High Court, there was nothing left to pursue in the case. The CBI contended that it was in no position to establish the link of the money in the frozen account with the kickbacks in the Bofors case.

I sought to exercise my right under the Right to Information Act 2005 and seek from the CBI all documents in relation to the freezing and de-freezing of the accounts and all communications given by the CBI to B Datta, Additional Solicitor General and further transmitted by Datta to the Crown Prosecution Service at London. I also sought copies of opinions and file notings as to why two erroneous judgments of the Delhi High Court which virtually put the lid on the Bofors’ case were not appealed against by the CBI.

Needless to say, the CBI declined my request. The Internal Appellate Authority within the CBI also rejected my request. I, therefore, decided to treat it as a test case by filing an appeal for my right to information to the Central Information Commission.

... contd.