NEW DELHI, July 3: The trial of self-styled godman Chandraswami and his aide Kailash Nath Aggarwal alias Mamaji in the St Kitts forgery case will begin from July 28, as a Delhi court today formally framed charges against the duo.Special judge Ajit Bharihoke framed charges against Chandraswami and Mamaji under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) after they pleaded ``not guilty'' and preferred trial.The judge fixed July 28, 29 and 30 for recording of prosecution evidence against the duo, who allegedly fabricated documents to show that former Premier Vishwanath Pratap Singh's son had opened a secret account in First Trust Corporation in St Kitts island and had deposited $ 21 million in it.The duo will face trial under Section 195 (giving or fabricating false evidence), 469 (forgery for purpose of harming reputation), 471 (using as genuine forged documents) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.The court had last month discharged former Premier P V Narasimha Rao and former Union Minister K K Tewary in the case, saying the ``circumstantial evidence'' against them were not sufficient to hold a trial.According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) charge-sheet, the accused conspired between November 1988 and October 1989 at Delhi, Miami, New York and St Kitts island to harm reputation and secure prosecution of Singh under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) and the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA), as he had emerged as a strong Opposition leader in the late eighties.The CBI could not secure the presence of Larry J Kolb, son-in-law of international arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi in the case, while two other accused AP Nandy, the former Deputy Director of Enforcement Department and George Mclean, the Managing Director of the FTCL - have since died.``When no such account was in existence, you also agreed to create forged statements about it as well as forged deposits and withdrawals pertaining to $ 21 million and also got the forged documents authenticated with a motive to harm the reputation of former prime minister, Mr Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Ajeya Singh and secure their prosecution and conviction under PCA and FERA,'' the judge told the accused before they signed the order.When the defence lawyer wanted a later date for recording of the evidence, the judge said the Supreme Court direction was to dispose of the case expeditiously.Singh also indicated that the accused persons might file an appeal in Delhi High Court against today's trial court order.
