The CBI has asked the Delhi High Court to set aside the trial court order discharging Rheinmetall and three individuals on corruption charges and revive an arrest warrant against a former employee of the company.
Dismissal of these criminal charges, however, does not mean Rheinmetall would be able to do business with the defense ministry.
The Delhi High Court has placed a hold on the acquisition of artillery guns by the Indian Army without its clearance. In the course of hearings of writ petitions filed by arms company, Singapore Technologies Kinetics, a bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kishen Kaul and Justice Rajiv Shakdher passed an interim order on May 02, 2011, asking the Ministry of Defense to refrain from awarding the tender without ‘leave and liberty of the court’.
The Indian Defense Minister AK Antony confirmed to Parliament on Tuesday, the recommendation of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for the blacklisting of six arms firms by the Ministry of Defense, Singapore Technologies, Israel Military Industries, TS Kissan and Company Private Limited and RK Machine Tools Private Limited, Rheinmetall Air Defence of Germany and a Russian firm called Cooperation Defence.
