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Notwithstanding the refusal of an Italian court to provide the Central Bureau of Investigation with an authenticated copy of the charge-sheet on the helicopter scam, the government on Thursday said as it will explore various legal options to get the required information.
"No, no, the doors are never closed. As long as the last court of the land does not say no to you, the doors are never closed. And if you go by some of our jurisprudence, even if the last decision is given, there are still opportunities for review," External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told reporters outside Parliament House.
He said the government will examine "every possibility that is legally available" to secure the information, which allows it to make "defaulting persons accountable."
Khurshid was responding to a question on whether the “doors were closed” for the country in securing the required information from Italy.
The minister said, "We will have to proceed according to their (Italian) courts' procedures. We will try and get whatever relief we can through proper procedure."
He said India respects the law of the land of any country and it expects them to respect the law of the land of this country.
"I think particularly with Italy, we made it very clear to them that our courts are autonomous and independent and you have to proceed according to the systems of our courts, which is what they did, I think to their satisfaction. I imagine we may have to do the same thing ourselves," he said.
On reports that Maldives has accepted India’s mediation on the issue of former President Nasheed, Khurshid said a team from New Delhi was in that country to hold discussions.
"I should speak on the issue only after I get some information. If some information reaches us through the media, we do examine it but do not reach any conclusion," he said.