A high-level team headed by defence ministry's director general (acquisition) today left for Italy to go through the crucial documents and evidence provided to India by the government there in the Rs 362 crore VVIP chopper scam.
Congress MP Shantaram Naik has also given a privilege notice against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in the Rajya Sabha in the AgustaWestland issue.
Rajiv Saxena, an accused in AgustaWestland chopper deal scam, was extradited from Dubai, UAE, to India .
Moving ahead towards cancelling the controversial chopper deal, the Defence Ministry on Wednesday said it has issued a final show cause notice to AgustaWestland for "violating" the terms of the Rs 3,600 crore contract for supplying 12 VVIP choppers to the Air Force.
CBI sources said while Air Marshal (Retd) Gujral has been asked to appear for questioning on Saturday, Tyagi will be examined on Monday.
Justice Gaur was elevated to the high court in April 2008. He was designated as a permanent judge on April 11, 2012.
After an Italian court partially lifted the freeze and allowed India to encash bank guarantees worth Rs 1,818 crore deposited by AgustaWestland in the VVIP chopper deal, the defence ministry on Saturday said it will take "immediate steps" to fully recover the amount.
The defence ministry has handed over some documents received from an Italian court to the Central Bureau of Investigation to verify if there was any breach of contractual obligations by Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland in the Rs 3,600 crore deal for 12 helicopters, official sources said on Tuesday.
The government vowed to track down the main beneficiaries of the kickbacks so that "we can do" what "we could not do in Bofors
The CBI has so far maintained that Gujral was questioned as a witness, but remained tightlipped if he will still retain the same status.
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Officials said the agency has sought property details on ten serving and retired officials of the ministry of defence and the IAF.
The stage is set for another stormy week in the Parliament. The Opposition and the government has been at loggerheads over the VVIP chopper scam since the time a Milan court gave its verdict.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in the Lok Sabha that former Air chief S P Tyagi and Gautam Khaitan, both accused in the case, are "small people" who "simply washed their hands in a flowing ganga (of corruption)" and that the government will 'find out where the river was going'.
An Italian court has barred India from encashing bank guarantees worth over Rs 2,360 crore of AgustaWestland as part of the penalties imposed on it after scrapping of the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal.
A special court denied Christian Michel bail in the related Central Bureau of Investigation case.
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He also said that Bharatiya Janata Party MP Subramanian Swamy has not lied about the deal but it seems he has been misled.
Pakistan has signed a deal with Italy-based aerospace giant Leonardo-Finmeccanica for purchasing an undisclosed number of helicopters for search and rescue operations.
The ministry had on Friday decided to replace Chatterjee as joint secretary and acquisition manager (Air), in-charge of handling the chopper deal, which is facing cancellation in view of bribery allegations, and the multi-billion dollar 126 combat aircraft deal of the Air Force.
A special court on Saturday issued fresh summons against three accused in a money laundering case related to the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal in which it had earlier issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant against British national and alleged middleman Christian Michel James.
Taken by surprise by the decision of an Italian judge to include Defence Minister A K Antony as a possible witness in a trial relating to corruption in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland chopper deal, India on Monday night ruled out his appearance in the court.
Former National Security Advisor M K Narayanan on Wednesday said that he played no role in the controversial Rs 3,600 crore VVIP AgustaWestland chopper deal.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has started fresh questioning of the cousins of former IAF chief SP Tyagi in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal in light of claims by alleged middleman Guido Haschke that he had paid money to them.
The commission has also sought records related to the termination of the deal to be presented before it in an in camera proceedings for its perusal before deciding whether they can be disclosed under the RTI Act or they attract its exemption clauses.
With only one day left, the Winter session of Parliament is on the verge of a washout as it failed to transact any business again on Thursday.
Congress MP Shantaram Naik on Tuesday gave a notice for breach of privilege against Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy in Rajya Sabha.
Italian defence and aerospace major Finmeccanica's former chief Giuseppe Orsi has been sentenced by the Milan appeals court to 4.5 years in jail for false accounting and corruption in the sale of 12 VVIP choppers to India for over Rs 3,600 crore.
Opposition does not stall legislative agenda; Upper House passes two bills.
Michel's counsel appeared with the application before Special Judge Arvind Kumar who issued notice to the probe agency and sought its reply by Saturday when he will take up the matter.
Claiming to be innocent, he said he might have some information which could enable the Indian authorities to progress with their probe into the scandal.
The Congress on Monday sought a thorough probe in the Rafale defence deal and demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after a French media report claimed that 1.1 million (Rs 9.5 crore) was paid to a "middleman" by the aircraft manufacturer.
In his hard-hitting speech at a gathering of ex-servicemen, the prime minister referred to the Bofors scam, AgustaWestland chopper scam, Rafale issue and inordinate delays in procurement of critical military platforms and ammunition by previous government.
'Narendra Modi knows that the Congress without the Gandhis is a more formidable and more dangerous adversary.'
The Central Bureau of Investigation has sent a letter to the Indian embassy in Italy seeking details on the arrest of Guido Ralph Haschke, the alleged middleman in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, by Swiss authorities.
In the matter pertaining to acquisition of AgustaWestland helicopters, the undisputed central issue that stands out is corruption, especially bribery, the statement said.
The court took note of Michel's submission alleging mental torture inside the jail and directed Tihar jail authorities to produce the CCTV footage and reports by Thursday based on which he was shifted to a high-security ward.
With the deal for procuring VVIP choppers from AgustaWestland facing the prospect of being scrapped, the Defence Research and Development Organisation on Wednesday said it has the capability to manufacture such helicopters even though it contended that producing anything entirely indigenously was impractical.
Lawyer ML Sharma has petitioned the Supreme Court for FIRs against the Congress leaders, who have been named in documents annexed to an Italian court in the VVIP chopper deal.
Facing the threat of cancellation of its Rs 3600-crore deal for VVIP choppers, AgustaWestland has asked the government to release its payments saying withholding it was a 'breach of contract'.
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