Chopper scam: SC to hear PIL next week on FIR against Sonia, Manmohan

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will hear next week a PIL seeking registration of an FIR against political leaders, including Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in connection with the AgustaWestland Chopper case.

A bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and justices R Banumathi and U U Lalit ordered listing of the PIL when advocate M L Sharma said that it is an urgent matter which should be heard at the earliest.

The Central Bureau of Investigation CBI had in 2013 registered a case in connection with alleged bribes paid by the firm to Indians to clinch the deal for 12 helicopters to ferry VVIPs including the President and prime minister.

An Italian court has reportedly cited handwritten references to Gandhi, her political secretary Ahmed Patel and former Air Chief S P Tyagi by a middleman in a judgment that convicted the helicopter company’s chief executive.