Rejecting a closure report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, a special court in New Delhi has ordered a fresh probe against officials of the Defence Ministry and a private firm allegedly involved in a Rs 3.85 crore scam linked to purchase of cooling systems for T-72 tanks.
"The closure report is rejected. Further investigation be carried out," Additional Sessions Judge I K Kochar said on the CBI's plea that a key accused M K Ghosh, then joint director (cost) in the ministry, had died.
"There is no doubt M K Ghosh has since expired but this by itself is not sufficient to absolve other co-accused," the court, in its recent order, said and ordered the agency to probe the case afresh.
Earlier, the CBI had sought prosecution of Ghosh, A K Agarwal, the then purchase officer in the ministry, and some unknown officials of a Coimbatore-based private firm, M/s Universal Radiators Ltd (URL), alleging that they caused a loss of Rs 3.85 crore to the government in the purchase of nearly 180 cooling systems for T-72 tanks during 1995-2000.
Previously, all the accused were booked under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and of the IPC for cheating, forgery, using forged documents as genuine.
Slamming the CBI for its bid to close the case, the court said: "The entire closure report talks of non-culpability of M K Ghosh but no evidence has been disclosed for exoneration of co-accused namely A K Agarwal, former purchase officer of URL and Kapadia, Director of Kapadia Exports."
The Department of Defence Production and Supplies, during the year 1995-2000, had invited limited tenders for supply of cooling systems for the tanks, the CBI said.