Delhi HC dismisses bail plea of Christian Michel James in AgustaWestland case

The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed the bail applications of Christian Michel James, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland scam being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED).

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has rejected the bail plea of ​​Christian Michel James, an accused in the case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the AgustaWestland scam case. The Rs 3,600-crore alleged scam relates to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland.

Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri ordered the dismissal of the bail application. The application said the accused had never sought to evade the process of law, and that no purpose would be served by keeping him in further custody, while both the CBI and the ED opposed the bail application.

Opposing Michel's bail plea on February 8, the ED had said that the charges against the accused, who have been extradited for trial, can be tried.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, appearing for the ED, opposed Michel's lawyer's contention that the Italian court had acquitted Michel from all the cases he was accused in. ASG stated that the ED was not a party in the Italian court. He also opposed Michel's argument that Michel had been extradited from the United Arab Emirates in December 2018 to investigate bribery cases.

Earlier on February 4, the ED had said that several senior officers of the Indian Air Force were involved in the AgustaWestland scam and several helicopters purchased from the British company AgustaWestland were lying idle because they could not fly in the same height as Ladakh as the conditions for the specialization of the helicopter were changed to buy from the AgustaWestland company which compromised the security of the country.

The ED had said that bribes were given through Michel to several influential persons on behalf of AgustaWestland Company so that the chopper deal could be done.

Michel has filed a bail petition in the High Court in the cases registered by both the ED and the CBI. On January 12, the CBI had opposed Michel's bail plea, saying that he was not cooperating in the investigation. During the hearing, DP Singh had said that Michel acted as a middleman. He took money for some agreements in this scam. He is not cooperating with the investigation.

Michel's bail application was rejected by the Rouse Avenue Court on 18 June 2021.

Earlier on 19 September 2020, the CBI had filed a supplementary charge sheet in which 13 have been named as accused, including Christian Michel, Rajiv Saxena, director of AgustaWestland International G Saponaro, and Sandeep Tyagi, a relative of former IAF chief SP Tyagi.

Former CAG and former Defense Secretary Shashikant Sharma have not been made an accused in the chargesheet, as no sanction has been received by the CBI to prosecute him.

The CBI, in its charge sheet, has alleged an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer due to the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010, for the supply of VVIP choppers worth 556.262 million euros. The ED, in its charge sheet filed against James in June 2016, had alleged that he had received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland. James is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case. The other two are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.

(With agency inputs)