The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday (February 2) moved Supreme Court against a 12-year-old Delhi high court order dismissing the case against the Hinduja brothers in the Rs 64 crore defence deal.

The agency’s petition comes days after Attorney General K K Venugopal had advised the government against a petition in the apex court which was likely to be dismissed due to the long delay. The bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra is hearing a petition filed last year by BJP member and advocate Ajay Aggarwal. Venugopal had earlier advised the CBI to be a respondent in Aggarwal’s case.

A 2005 Delhi high court had quashed all the charges against the Hinduja brothers in the Bofors case.

The CBI, which has been very keen to file an appeal in the matter, had earlier informed a parliamentary panel looking into the Bofors deal that the agency has enough evidence to file a Special Leave Petition before the court.

—India Legal Bureau