India Not Party to Appeal in AgustaWestland Case: Manohar Parrikar

Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar. (Photo: PTI)

India will not be party to the case which is to be filed in the Italian apex court against the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar told The Economic Times, in an exclusive interview.

In the past too, India was only a civil party in the criminal case, as advised by the Attorney General of India. As a result, Parrikar said, India has gained access to all the necessary documents and he sees no reason why India should be a part of it this time around.

He said the fight in the Italian court is on other legal aspects and that it is unnecessary expenditure.

We could not have done anything and would just be observers. It was not required.

The minister has also said that the AugustaWestland case will have no impact on the new blacklisting policies.

When asked if he foresees India as a major export hub for missiles, Parikkar said that exports have actually gone up three times.

In the Italian case, they have torpedoed our attempt to enter the MTCR. They have taken a stand against us that I think is not valid. We have taken this up with the external affairs ministry, but even without MTCR we can do exports. India can be a hub for missile exports; we have products like the Brahmos and Akash missile systems. 

Read the full story on The Economic Times.