The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government refused to share crucial documents with investigators and displayed "substantial disregard" in arriving at the full truth behind the Rs 3,565-crore VVIP chopper scam, an Italian court has said. The Court of Appeals in Milan observed that Italy had sought all the documents pertaining to the case from India in April 2013, but it had received only three documents by March 2014, reported Economic Times.

"This showing [of] a substantial disregard to arrive at a full explanation of facts [was] effectively demonstrated by the procedural behaviour of the Indian Ministry of Defence," the court said in its 225-page order.

The court referred to the Comptroller and Auditor General report that had slammed the Ministry of Defence and Indian Air Force for “several instances” of deviation from rules in the procurement of 12 VVIP choppers from AgustaWestland. The report was tabled in Parliament in April 2014, reported The Indian Express. On January 1, the Manmohan Singh government at the Centre scrapped the deal on the grounds of breach of pre-contract integrity pact. The company also allegedly gave around Rs 360 crore as bribe to former IAF chief SP Tyagi and his cousins to bag the contract.