AgustaWestland: Delhi high court rejects plea by Emmar-MGF promoter for adjournment

NEW DELHI: In the politically significant AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam case, Delhi HC on Wednesday rejected a plea from fugitive Shravan Gupta, promoter of Emaar-MGF who fled to London in 2019, seeking further adjournment of his case relating to non-bailable warrant against him and that he be allowed to appear before ED through video conferencing in view of his inability to return to India.Pulling up his counsel for misleading the court repeatedly, the court refused to grant any further adjournment while reserving its order on the plea of quashing the non-bailable warrant.ED argued before Justice Neena Bansal that Gupta had failed to appear for questioning despite nine summonses issued to him since 2019. Two days after he wrote to ED (on Nov 24, 2019) seeking "some time to join the investigation" on grounds of ill health, with a doctor's prescription advising six days rest to him, Gupta had fled to London and not returned since then, sources said.Rejecting Gupta's adjournment request, Justice Bansal said the matter had already been argued by both sides on two previous occasions, and on each date after the arguments, senior counsel (for Gupta) Vikas Pahwa had sought time to get instructions from his client regarding his return to India to join the investigation. Such conduct is "unbecoming of a senior advocate", the judge said while pointing out that the counsel had been seeking repeated adjournments.

Gupta is accused of receiving kickbacks from AgustaWestland intermediaries for influencing the VVIP chopper deal worth Rs 3,600 crore, sealed during the UPA regime. "Shravan Gupta received proceeds of crime in Natille Overseas Inc, Switzerland; Timekeeper Ltd, British Virgin Islands; Hall Park Holdings Ltd, UK, etc which are beneficially owned by him," the ED had said earlier, and has filed 12 chargesheets in the case, including against Gupta in 2022.Probe found that a Mauritius-based shell firm received bribes in the deal signed with Agusta SPA, Italy. Bribes were laundered to India allegedly through Gupta's shell entities and shared with IAF officials, bureaucrats and politically exposed persons through a complex web of transactions.