New Delhi, Jan. 20 -- The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the Centre's appeal seeking to continue the suspension of business dealings with Defsys Solutions Private Limited, a defence supplier, in connection with the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case, after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conceded that it has no fresh material against the company to indicate criminality. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Dipankar Datta and Joymalya Bagchi refused to interfere with the Delhi High Court's order quashing a series of suspension orders issued against Defsys. The court made it clear that in the absence of any new or adverse material, there was no justification for continuing punitive action against the firm. During the hearing, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Defsys, told the court that the Centre had made it a practice to issue fresh suspension orders every six months despite repeated judicial interventions. "They have issued a fresh suspension order again. Every six months, they pass a fresh order even though we were given an award by the Union ministers. There is absolutely no evidence of our receiving any money from AgustaWestland, which itself has been given a clean chit," Rohatgi submitted. He added that nearly 12 years had elapsed since the scandal surfaced and yet investigations were still inconclusive. Questioning the rationale behind the continued action against Defsys, the bench asked why proceedings should persist against a company when the principal accused - AgustaWestland, now part of Italian defence major Leonardo SpA - had already been cleared and permitted to resume business with the Indian government in 2021. "Why should this continue against this company when you have cleared the principal accused - AgustaWestland?" the bench asked. Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj conceded that there was no fresh incriminating material against Defsys at this stage. Recording this submission, the court in its order noted: "...Therefore, we see no reason to interfere with the order of the high court."...