The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition challenging the 2005 Delhi High Court judgment that quashed criminal proceedings against the Hinduja brothers and Swedish arms maker AB Bofors in the Bofors case.

A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran declined to entertain the appeal filed by advocate Ajay K Agrawal, bringing another attempt to revive the decades-old case to an end.

During the hearing, Agrawal sought four weeks to remove the names of Srichand P Hinduja and Gopichand P Hinduja from the petition, as both had died. The bench refused to grant more time.

Supreme Court questions continuation of case

Justice Pardiwala questioned the purpose of continuing the litigation after the Delhi High Court had quashed the proceedings in 2005 and the CBI's challenge to that decision had also failed.

“What is all this about the Hinduja brothers and CBI?” the bench asked.

When told that the High Court had exonerated the accused, the bench remarked: “All proceedings were quashed. What is this? How many years have passed?”

Agrawal referred to the 1986 defence deal and the CBI's earlier appeal. The bench cut him short, saying: “No, no...dismissed,”

When Agrawal sought to make further submissions, the bench refused an adjournment. “No question of adjournment. It is a 2018 matter,” it said before dismissing the appeal.

What the 2005 Bofors verdict said

The Delhi High Court had on May 31, 2005, cleared Srichand, Gopichand and Prakash Hinduja, along with AB Bofors, of the criminal charges.

The court found serious deficiencies in the prosecution's evidence and held that the CBI had failed to establish a direct role of the Hinduja brothers in securing the 1986 gun deal or prove that money allegedly received by them was linked to illegal commissions.

It also noted that documents obtained from Swedish authorities were neither original records nor authenticated copies. The court said relying on such material would waste public money and time and be unfair to those facing trial.

Bofors case and earlier Supreme Court setback

The CBI's appeal against the High Court verdict was dismissed by the Supreme Court in November 2018. The court cited an unexplained delay of 4,522 days in filing the appeal.

The Bofors controversy began with the Rs 1,437-crore contract signed on March 24, 1986, for 400 howitzers. It became a major political scandal in 1987 after Swedish Radio alleged that illegal commissions had been paid to secure the deal.

The Bofors controversy had a major political impact on the Congress government led by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Allegations of illegal commissions in the purchase of Swedish Bofors guns became a major issue in Indian politics in the late 1980s and were among the controversies that damaged the Rajiv Gandhi government's image.