SC dismisses plea against Chhattisgarh’s Agusta copter purchase

New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking probe into alleged irregularities in Chhatisgrah’s AgustaWestland helicopter purchase for VIPs in 2006-07 and also into the foreign bank accounts purportedly linked to Chief Minister Raman Singh’s son.

A division bench of Justice A.K. Goel and Justice U.U. Lalit dismissed the plea filed by the NGO Swaraj Abhiyan, saying it doesn’t find any merit in it.

Chhattisgarh had denied the allegations, calling them “reckless” and a “politically motivated” filed to malign reputations as elections were due in the state.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, had said that a proposal of the state in December 2006 stated that there should be open bid to purchase helicopter.

It said that helicopter firms should be invited but no company was called and a tender was issued only for AgustaWestland.