The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition seeking to overturn the 2005 Delhi High Court ruling that quashed all criminal proceedings against the Hinduja brothers and Swedish manufacturer AB Bofors in the Bofors artillery case.
A bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran refused to entertain the appeal brought by advocate Ajay K Agrawal. During proceedings, Agrawal requested a four-week adjournment to remove the names of Srichand P Hinduja and Gopichand P Hinduja, both of whom have since died. The court rejected the request, stating that the matter could not be prolonged any further.
Justice Pardiwala questioned the purpose of continued litigation, asking what remained to be decided given that the High Court had quashed the proceedings nearly two decades ago and previous challenges by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had failed.
On May 31, 2005, the Delhi High Court cleared Srichand, Gopichand, and Prakash Hinduja, along with AB Bofors, of all criminal charges. The court highlighted severe shortcomings in the prosecution's evidence, ruling that the CBI had failed to demonstrate any direct involvement by the brothers in securing the 1986 arms deal or to prove that funds received by them constituted illegal kickbacks.
The High Court had also pointed out that the documentation gathered by the CBI from Swedish authorities consisted of unauthenticated copies rather than original records. Relying on such material, the court noted, was an unfair burden on those on trial and a waste of public funds. The investigation itself was heavily criticised at the time, having cost the exchequer an estimated Rs 250 crore. The ruling led to the discharge of the Hinduja brothers and the return of their bail bonds after a 14-year legal battle.
Subsequent efforts by the CBI to challenge the decision were turned down by the Supreme Court in November 2018, which dismissed the agency's appeal because of an unexplained delay of 4,522 days in filing.
The scandal stems from a March 1986 contract valued at Rs 1,437 crore between the Indian government and AB Bofors for 400 howitzer guns. Political turmoil erupted the following year when Swedish Radio reported that illegal commissions were paid to Indian politicians and defence officials to secure the deal.
This latest decision by the top court effectively closes any remaining legal avenues to re-open the case against the Hinduja family.
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