Bofors case: Court proposes cost on rebel BJP leader for withdrawing plea for further probe

A Delhi court Thursday proposed imposing Rs 100 as a cost on a rebel-BJP leader for wanting to withdraw his application which had sought further probe in the politically sensitive, Rs 64-crore Bofors payoff case. Advocate Ajay Agarwal, who has become a rebel after being denied the Lok Sabha ticket by the party from Rai Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, had moved a separate application in the case seeking further probe. After that prosecuting agency CBI also moved a similar plea on February 1, 2018.

However, after CBI told the court Thursday that it wanted to withdraw its application, Agarwal also sought the same liberty, which irked the court. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Navin Kumar Kashyap, while allowing CBI to withdraw its application, proposed to impose a cost on Agarwal, saying that he "wasted" the judicial time.

"Why should we not impose a cost on you? You have wasted time of the court with your application. I am imposing cost so that persons like you do not come and waste time. CBI is the probe agency and it has a right. What is your locus (standi)," the judge asked, after taking note of the u-turn of Agarwal. Agarwal, who had fought Lok Sabha election from Rai Bareli against UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in 2014, submitted that the cost be not imposed on him and he is allowed to argue that he has got a locus in this case.

The court then posted the matter for arguments on July 6. The apex court had on October 18, 2005, admitted Agarwal's petition which was filed after the CBI failed to approach the top court with the appeal within the 90-day deadline following May 31, 2005, Delhi High Court judgement quashing charges against the Europe-based industrialists, the Hinduja brothers.