New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to alleged middleman Christian Michel James, in the purported Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland case of the CBI. James had spent six years in custody.
The matter was heard by a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta. While granting bail to James, the apex court observed that he had been in custody for the past six years while the investigation into the matter was still underway.
The apex court made it clear that James would be released on bail, subject to terms and conditions decided by the trial court. Questioning the delay in the trial in the matter, the bench said the way the trial is going on right now, "it would not be completed in 25 years".
"Considering facts and circumstances and that petitioner was extradited in 2018 and has been in custody for more than 6 years now..... we are inclined to grant bail on condition as set by the trial court," the bench noted. James was represented by advocate Aljo K Joseph.
James, the middleman in the AgustaWestland chopper scandal, was extradited from Dubai, after his arrest in 2017 in the UAE. The AgustaWestland case involves a 2007 contract signed by the government to buy 12 luxury helicopters for use by top leaders, including the President, Prime Minister, and former prime ministers. In 2014, the government scrapped the contract amid allegations that the supplier AgustaWestland, whose parent company was Finmeccanica, allegedly gave bribes in Italy and India.
