he allegation against the former Air Chief is that he reduced the flying ceiling of the helicopter so that AgustaWestland company was included in the bids. Tyagi has refuted the allegations against him.
However, this decision was stated to have been taken in consultation with the officials of SPG and the Prime Minister's Office, including Narayanan and Wanchoo.
The reduction of the service ceiling—the maximum height at which a helicopter can perform normally—allowed the firm to get into the fray as, otherwise, its helicopters did not even qualify for the submission of bids.
CBI claims that the parameters regarding the height at which the helicopter can fly as well as the flight evaluation were changed in a manner that enabled AgustaWestland to clinch the deal ahead of its competitor, Sikorsky.
CBI's request for questioning of Narayanan and Wanchoo had been earlier rejected by the Law Ministry under the previous UPA regime, prompting the agency to send a request to President Pranab Mukherjee's Secretariat seeking permission to record their statement as witnesses.
Law Ministry had declined permission saying the two were in constitutional posts which gave them immunity from prosecution under Article 361 of the Constitution.
The agency has put the investigation in this case on the fast-track and questioned several bureaucrats, including former Cabinet Secretary BK Chaturvedi and Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Shashikant Sharma, who was the then Defence Secretary.
In April this year, former Secretary (Security) Sudhir Kumar, former Inspector General (SPG) N Ramachandran, who retired as DGP Meghalaya, and former Special Secretary (Acquisition) in the Defence Ministry, HC Gupta, were examined by the agency as part of its probe.
