Freeze Quattrochi accounts: Court

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take steps to once again freeze the two bank accounts of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, accused in the Bofors payoffs case.

A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice YK Sabharwal made it clear that if the bank in London had already defreezed the two accounts of Quattrocchi, steps must be taken to ensure that the amount was not withdrawn from these accounts by him until further orders.

Quattrocchi, however, said in a statement from Milan that the CBI had no proof to link him with the payoffs and the British authorities had no option but to defreeze his accounts. "I am a victim of a political campaign waged by a political party against the Gandhi family," he said.

In New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came to the aid of Law Minister Hansraj Bharadwaj, who is under fire for his alleged role in defreezing the two Quattrochi accounts.

"Action relating to both freezing and defreezing of these accounts had been taken at the level of the CBI in consultation with law officials as per established procedures," he said.

"Neither the freezing nor the defreezing (of Quattorochi's accounts) was done under the government's orders."

Earlier in the day, the CBI admitted that it, and not the law ministry, had made a representation in the British prosecutor's office stating there was no evidence to link Quattrochi's London accounts to alleged payoffs in the Bofors deal.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is raising the ante over the controversy. It plans to launch a nationwide agitation from tomorrow over the issue.

"The government is trying to brazen it out. But the nation wants to know how this was allowed to happen," BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley said.

The Supreme Court also told the Centre and the CBI to explain by January 23 their stand on a petition filed by Ajay Aggarwal, a lawyer who brought to the court's notice the defreezing of Quattrochi's London accounts.

The advocate had earlier challenged a judgment of the Delhi High Court exonerating the Hinduja brothers in the case.

Aggarwal filed the present application following reports that the Centre and the CBI had sent a senior law officer to the UK to instruct the Crown Prosecution Services to take steps to defreeze Quattrochi's accounts.

These reports had created a political storm as Opposition parties had alleged that the Prime Minister was kept in the dark about the whole episode and the Law Ministry had given opinion to defreeze the account despite objections by the CBI. The Bench directed listing of the petition for further hearing on January 23.