The Delhi High Court has asked the Hinduja brothers to give details under oath of money received by them from the Swedish arms manufacturing company Bofors, which is at the centre of a corruption scandal.

The ruling is yet another setback to the efforts of the billionaire brothers to leave India.

The three brothers - SP Hinduja, GP Hinduja and PP Hinduja - had appealed to the high court against a lower court ruling last month denying them permission to leave the country.

The three brothers are facing allegations of criminal conspiracy and bribery related to an Indian government arms deal with Bofors.

The Hindujas have all along said that the money they received from the Swedish arms manufacturing company was not related to the gun deal signed by them with India.

Asset details

The judge Justice SK Agarwal asked the brothers to file affidavits by Monday giving details of the money received by them from the company.

The court also asked them to show details of their individual assets in India.

The Hinduja brothers saying they need to leave India because of their business interests overseas.

But the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had asked the court to dismiss their plea on the grounds that they may not return.

The Hinduja brothers have been accused of receiving thousands of dollars from the Swedish company - Bofors - in return for persuading the government of Rajiv Gandhi to buy 400 field guns.

The scandal led to the fall of Mr Gandhi's government in 1989 and a criminal investigation that has persisted to this day.