india

Updated: Aug 18, 2019 07:51 IST

A Delhi court on Saturday refused to stay the non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued against businessman Ratul Puri and sought the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s response on his plea seeking its cancellation.

On Saturday, Puri told the court he was willing to join the probe in connection with alleged irregularities related to the AgustaWestland chopper deal. He said he had sent emails to the ED expressing his desire to join the investigation but the agency had not responded.

Appearing for Puri, his counsel Vijay Aggarwal submitted, “You issued NBW against him (Puri) because he was not joining the investigation. But now ED is not calling him to join the investigation. We need the court’s directions to stay the NBW.”

He also informed the court that Puri had been given interim protection from arrest in the case by the Delhi high court.

The ED, however, opposed the application for cancellation of the NBW saying its sole purpose was to create confusion.

“We will file a response on the application. The warrant should not be stayed. If they have no coercive action order, then what is the need to stay? This is an attempt to confuse the court with multiple petitions.

“We are opposing the stay on NBW. This is just to create confusion by filing multiple applications. Ratul Puri e-mailed on August 15 to join the probe. Now we will take our call... We called him regularly to join the investigation but he did not come,” special public prosecutor DP Singh said.

The court has fixed August 19 as the next date for hearing further arguments on the application.

The ED said it would file a detailed reply to the application on the next date of hearing.

On Friday, Puri had moved the court seeking cancellation of the NBW issued by the trial court on the ED’s submissions that he might try to tamper with evidence and influence witnesses “as he already did earlier”.

Puri’s role is being probed in connection with alleged irregularities in the purchase of 12 VVIP choppers from Italy-based Finmeccanica’s British subsidiary, AgustaWestland.

The deal was scrapped by the NDA government in 2014 over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of payment of kickbacks for securing the deal.