AgustaWestland chopper scam: The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the bail pleas of Christian Michel James, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland chopper scam in which the CBI and Enforcement Directorate have lodged two separate cases.
Earlier in May last year, the top court had sought responses from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED on the bail pleas. The Rs 3,600-crore alleged scam relates to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland.
During the earlier hearing, the counsel for the accused had said the case was covered under section 436A of CrPC (maximum period for which under trial prisoner can be detained) and he has undergone 50 per cent of the sentence for the offence which he is alleged to have committed.
The accused was extradited from Dubai and has been in custody since then and the investigation is still not complete, his counsel had said.
Court underscored Michel not fit for bail
Dismissing the bail pleas in both the CBI and ED cases in 2021, a trial court had said that considering the overall facts and circumstances, the serious nature of accusations, the gravity of the offence, and the conduct of the accused, it did not consider it to be a fit case for grant of bail.
Notably. Michel was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 and subsequently arrested by the two investigating agencies. 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 Michel in June 2016, had alleged that he had received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crores) from AgustaWestland. He is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case. The other two are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.
(With inputs from PTI)
