A local court while accepting a closure report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after not finding anything wrong against Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials for being involved in Rs 151 crore Krasnopol Artillery Shell deal with a company based in Russia said Krasnopol is an urgent requirement and can be used with Bofors Units in situations like Kargil war.
The deal took place during the previous NDA regime.
Krasnopol is a cannon-launched explosive projectile made in Russia and was procured by the Ministry of Defence in 1998-2000 from KBP Design Bureau, a weapon and military equipments manufacturing company based in Russia.
The court also observed the statement of one of the witnesses who said, "The procurement of Krasnopol is an urgent requirement for Drass-Kargil sector and may be progressed in most expeditious manner."
The witness further added that a note was prepared in this regard on June 16, 1999, approved by defence secretary on June 17, 1999, and by the then Defence Minister George Fernandes on June 19, 1999.
The CBI registered a case against MS Sahni, SJ Singh (Retd) and other unknown MoD officials. It was alleged that they entered into a criminal conspiracy with the Russian firm for buying 1,000 Krasnopol and 10 laser designators worth Rs 151 crores. The CBI filed the closure report in 2010 stating that deal was important in a war situation.
Special CBI Judge Gurdip Singh, in the meanwhile, also observed that defence forces must be equipped with weapons and other necessary logistics and said there must not be any delay in any procurement, as the delay may not only result in our forces loosing advantage over others, but also tends to bring in frustration in the forces.
"The national security is of the highest importance and the procedures can be given go-by with proper justification and at the higher level of functionaries. When life of the soldiers, who are fighting battle is at stake, the highest priority should be to provide them with the best of ammunitions and also to keep the defence preparedness at the appropriate level," the court added.