A court in Delhi on Wednesday cancelled the non-bailable warrant against Aditya Talwar, the son of corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar, who is wanted in connection with a case about traffic rights for private airlines that were allegedly secured in exchange for money, PTI reported. The court had issued the warrant against Aditya Talwar on May 1.
Deepak Talwar has been in the Enforcement Directorate’s custody since his extradition from Dubai on January 30. He was arrested along with Dubai-based businessman Rajeev Saxena, who is an accused in the AgustaWestland helicopter scam.
Earlier in the day, the Enforcement Directorate sought to declare Aditya Talwar a fugitive offender in the case. The investigating agency said that it needs to interrogate him to get the names of officials in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the National Aviation Company of India Limited and Air India who had favoured foreign airlines.
Special Judge Anuradha Shukla Bharadwaj asked Aditya Talwar to appear before the court on May 28. His counsel had request for the cancellation of the warrant, claiming that the summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate had not reached Aditya Talwar’s address. However, the directorate told the court that the summons were sent to his last known address.
In its chargesheet, the Enforcement Directorate has accused Deepak Talwar of receiving kickbacks worth Rs 272 crore while acting as a middleman to illegally secure favourable air traffic rights for foreign private airlines in 2008-’09 at the cost of the national carrier, The Economic Times had reported earlier this month. The foreign airlines include Air Arabia, Qatar Airways and Emirates.
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