'Were You Kept In The Dark?'

January 15, 2006

Dear Prime Minister,

Recent developments with regard to the interference of the Ministry of Law,the Minister of Law & Justice Mr H.R. Bhardwaj and the Additional SolicitorGeneral of India, Mr B. Datta, in the criminal proceedings against Mr OttavioQuattrocchi have shaken the confidence of the people of India in the fairness ofthe government. Mr Quattrocchi is charged with having received kick-backs in theBofors gun deal, a contact which was executed in the year 1986. The fact that MrQuattrocchi was extremely close to the-then Prime Minister, Mr Rajiv Gandhi, andMrs Sonia Gandhi, the chairperson of the UPA, is perceived to be a ground forhis having gained political clout and the capacity to influence the defencetransaction in 1986.

Fairness requires that since the accused has close connections in highplaces, the role of the government and the investigative agencies in dealingwith him must confirm to the highest standards of fair play, transparency andimpartiality. However, events have proved that this is not so. In 1993, despitethe Swiss authorities having informed the Central Bureau of Investigation aboutthe fact of Mr Ottavio Quattrocchi being a beneficiary of the kick-backs, hispassport was not impounded and he was allowed to escape from India. Acharge-sheet was filed against him in October, 1999. Attempts have been made bythe Central Bureau of Investigation to extradite him to India. The proceedingsfor extradition have virtually become infructuous since he appears to have nowescaped from Malaysia to Italy. Why have we not taken any steps to extradite himfrom Italy?

Mr Quattrocchi was apparently the beneficiary of an account in Switzerlandwhere payments were made to his benefit in the name of M/s A E Services Limited.The CBI has since investigated the money trail from this beneficial account. TheCBI on the strength of this investigation succeeded in getting the two accountsin Britain frozen wherein moneys springing out of the benefits of the Boforsbribery case were alleged to have been deposited. Mr Quattrocchi’s legalremedies in the matter did not yield results. It appears that he has now turnedto his powerful political friends for help.

It is disturbing and surprising that the government of India through itsAdditional Solicitor General should have volunteered to inform the CrownProsecutor that moneys lying deposited in the two British accounts be paid to MrQuattrocchi after de-freezing the accounts. This is an extraordinary concessionvolunteered by the government of India. The CBI and the CBI alone is authorizedto deal with this case. The Ministry of Law has no locus standii in the matter.Under the Allocation of Business Rules, the CBI comes under the Department ofPersonnel of which you are the Cabinet Minister. The job of the Law Ministry ismerely to tender legal advice and to provide for lawyers to represent differentDepartments of the government.

Who authorized the Law Ministry to deal with this matter? Who authorized thevisit of the Additional Solicitor General of India to Britain? Who prevented theCBI officer from accompanying the Additional Solicitor General of India? It isnow clear from various reports, which have been published that the CBI was notin concurrence with what the Additional Solicitor General did. Questions withregard to the creditability of the government and your own role in the matterare also being raised. Had you authorized this concession to help Mr OttavioQuattrocchi or were you kept in the dark? The country is entitled to know ananswer from a government, which claims the legislation on ‘The Right toInformation’ as its achievement. The fact that you are not acting against anerring and a delinquent Minister raises doubts about the existence of anyaccountability in the government.

Notwithstanding this debate, the issue of concern to the entire country nowis with regard to preventing the damage caused by the action of the Law Ministerand the Additional Solicitor General of India. The Crown Prosecutor in Britainwill obviously act on the basis of the opinion given to him by the AdditionalSolicitor General and these two bank accounts are likely to be de-frozen soon.Moneys would immediately fly out of these accounts to unknown destinations. Thisneeds to be prevented immediately. In case the Central Bureau of Investigationhonestly believes that the Additional Solicitor General should not have madethis concession, and you feel that this concession was made without yourconcurrence, the opinion given by the Additional Solicitor General to the CrownProsecutor requires to be countermanded forthwith. If this is not done, theinaction of the government of India would again directly help Mr Quattrocchi.

I am writing to you to draw the above facts to your notice and request foryour immediate intervention in the matter.

With regards,

Yours sincerely,

ARUN JAITLEY

Dr. Manmohan Singh,
Hon’ble the Prime Minister of India,
7, Race Course Road,
New Delhi.