Sunday, June 5 2005 13:21 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court judgement on Bofors pay off case has appeared to have put the CBI in a tight spot even as its old hands feel that the agency itself is left with little room to succeed in case of an appeal before the Supreme Court.

"If CBI accepts what the Additional Solicitor General said in the court was on its instructions then it forecloses all options to succeed in case of an appeal," former CBI Director D R Karthikeyan told sources in New Delhi.

Karthikeyan, who had not handled the Bofors case even during his stint as Special Director or Director of the agency, said, "It is very difficult for the CBI to go ahead with the appeal if the ASG on the instruction of agency had informed the court that there was no other document to proceed with the case".

"On what ground will CBI file the appeal," he wondered and said people are losing faith on the agency on which the Supreme Court also depends.

However, Karthikeyan said only option, which could be favourable at this stage, would be somebody approach the apex court with a PIL.

"It is open to anybody to go in for PIL on the issue," he added.

But senior advocate P P Rao was of the opinion that it was only the CBI, which had the locus stand to go in for an appeal.