<div align="justify"> The CBI's move, urging the government to reverse its decision on not going forward in the Bofors case, has once again brought the three-decade-old scam into the limelight.<br /><br />In a letter to the Department of Personnel and Training, the CBI has sought reconsideration of its 2005 decision and to allow it to file a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the quashing of the FIR against the Hinduja brothers in the case.<br /><br />The Congress-led UPA government had denied permission to the CBI in 2005, to challenge the Delhi High Court order quashing proceedings against the Hinduja brothers. According to CBI officials, they were keen to pursue the case but were denied permission. The Delhi High Court had earlier exonerated former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in the case.<br /><br />The CBI letter comes days after private detective Michael Hershmam claimed that the then Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government had sabotaged his investigation.<br /><br />Following Hershmam's claims, the CBI issued a statement on Wednesday, saying it would look into the "facts and circumstances" of the Bofors scam mentioned by the private detective.<br /><br />BJP MPs had raised the scam in Parliament several times to counter Congress charges against the Narendra Modi government.<br /><br />The Bofors scam had recently echoed in the proceedings of a Parliamentary panel too. The CBI told a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting that the agency wanted to pursue the case against the Hindujas, but it did not get the approval from the government.<br /><br />The CBI had told the Parliamentary panel that it had conveyed in June itself that it was of the view that a special leave petition should be preferred against the High Court order. <br /><br />The PAC had also asked the Ministry of Defence in July to trace all missing files related to the Bofors scandal after the latter said some audit paragraphs should be omitted during the review, as they could not locate the documents. <br /></div>
<div align="justify"> The CBI's move, urging the government to reverse its decision on not going forward in the Bofors case, has once again brought the three-decade-old scam into the limelight.<br /><br />In a letter to the Department of Personnel and Training, the CBI has sought reconsideration of its 2005 decision and to allow it to file a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the quashing of the FIR against the Hinduja brothers in the case.<br /><br />The Congress-led UPA government had denied permission to the CBI in 2005, to challenge the Delhi High Court order quashing proceedings against the Hinduja brothers. According to CBI officials, they were keen to pursue the case but were denied permission. The Delhi High Court had earlier exonerated former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in the case.<br /><br />The CBI letter comes days after private detective Michael Hershmam claimed that the then Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government had sabotaged his investigation.<br /><br />Following Hershmam's claims, the CBI issued a statement on Wednesday, saying it would look into the "facts and circumstances" of the Bofors scam mentioned by the private detective.<br /><br />BJP MPs had raised the scam in Parliament several times to counter Congress charges against the Narendra Modi government.<br /><br />The Bofors scam had recently echoed in the proceedings of a Parliamentary panel too. The CBI told a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting that the agency wanted to pursue the case against the Hindujas, but it did not get the approval from the government.<br /><br />The CBI had told the Parliamentary panel that it had conveyed in June itself that it was of the view that a special leave petition should be preferred against the High Court order. <br /><br />The PAC had also asked the Ministry of Defence in July to trace all missing files related to the Bofors scandal after the latter said some audit paragraphs should be omitted during the review, as they could not locate the documents. <br /></div>
