The court asked them to furnish a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh with one surety of the like amount.
Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland case, has claimed that attempts were made to poison him inside Tihar Jail. A Delhi court has sought a response from the prison authorities on his plea. The court has also directed that James be taken to AIIMS on April 7 for a check-up. James was extradited from Dubai in 2018 and has been in custody since then. He has been granted bail in the ED and CBI cases against him but has refused to accept bail citing security concerns. He has also alleged that he was subjected to an incident at AIIMS, the details of which he is willing to share with the court in private. The court has ordered James to furnish a personal bond and surety of Rs 10 lakh in both cases and surrender his passport. The CBI chargesheet claims an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer due to the deal for the supply of VVIP choppers. The ED chargesheet filed against James alleged he received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.
The Indian Air Force headquarters in a reply said, 'The information sought vide your RTI application is not available at this HQ.'
Swamy gave notice in the Rajya Sabha for moving Breach of Privilege Motion against Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad over his remarks related to the AgustaWestland issue.
India's dealings with Westland Helicopters, before it merged in March 1999 with Italy's Finmeccanica subsidiary to become AgustaWestland, were technically problematical and politically questionable.
A Delhi court has reprimanded Tihar Jail authorities for allegedly keeping Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland case, with an inmate who has received 41 punishments for misconduct, raising concerns about Michel's safety. The court also ordered the jail to provide Michel with a table fan, stating that even animals in zoological parks are provided air conditioning. Michel had previously requested to finish his sentence and leave India due to security risks.
Orsi was at the helm of AugustaWestland when the deal was struck and he is suspected of involvement in the payment of bribes.
A Delhi Court on Friday dismissed the bail pleas of alleged middleman Christian Michel in connection with alleged AgustaWestland scam related corruption case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, and the money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate.
A bail plea was also moved on his behalf. The court did not give any specific date for hearing the bail plea.
The focus of the questioning is Tyagi's alleged links with Italian middlemen -- Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschkhe, CBI sources said.
Sanjeev Tyagi, a cousin of former Air Chief S P Tyagi, on Saturday rubbished charges of having received kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal, saying it was an "absolute lie" even as he admitted having met one of the middlemen 17 years back on a power sector deal.
Moving ahead towards cancelling the controversial chopper deal, the Defence Ministry on Wednesday said it has issued a final show cause notice to AgustaWestland for "violating" the terms of the Rs 3,600 crore contract for supplying 12 VVIP choppers to the Air Force.
The probe agency sought nine days further remand of Michel for his custodial interrogation saying he was not cooperating in the investigation of the case.
In his plea, Michel said the investigation regarding him was over and no useful purpose would be served by keeping him in further incarceration.
The meeting would be attended by Parrikar, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu, besides others. Parrikar, who met the prime minister on Tuesday, is expected to address the Rajya Sabha at 2 pm during the short duration debate.
The chargesheet said according to the 'budget sheet, 30 million were paid to Air Force officers.
ED sought his custody for seven days, claiming it had knowledge of unidentified assets which value more than Rs 500 crore and his custodial interrogation was required.
Michel, extradited from Dubai, was arrested by the ED on December 22 last year.
The government vowed to track down the main beneficiaries of the kickbacks so that "we can do" what "we could not do in Bofors
Defence Ministry A K Antony has asked AgustaWestland to explain within one week its linkages with software companies allegedly used as a cover for paying kickbacks in the VVIP chopper deal.
CBI sources said while Air Marshal (Retd) Gujral has been asked to appear for questioning on Saturday, Tyagi will be examined on Monday.
Rajiv Saxena, an accused in AgustaWestland chopper deal scam, was extradited from Dubai, UAE, to India .
The defence ministry has got the 'contract' between AgustaWestland and alleged middleman Christian Michel regarding the controversial VVIP helicopter Rs 3600-crore deal with India.
The bench said what is worrying the court is the complexity of trial as there are over 250 witnesses in the case and the co-accused government officials have been granted bail for want of sanction for prosecution.
AgustaWestland, which is facing allegations of paying kickbacks to secure VVIP choppers deal, on Friday replied to the Indian show cause notice for cancelling the contract saying it has not indulged in any wrong practice.
The CBI has so far maintained that Gujral was questioned as a witness, but remained tightlipped if he will still retain the same status.
Special judge Arvind Kumar issued notice to the agency and directed it to file a reply on Michel's plea, which had stated that he had not named anybody in connection with the deal during investigation by the ED and that even though the court has not taken cognisance of the documents, in order to make the entire case a sensation again in the media, the agency had leaked the chargesheet.
Facing the threat of cancellation of its Rs 3600-crore deal for VVIP choppers, AgustaWestland has asked the government to release its payments saying withholding it was a 'breach of contract'.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in the Lok Sabha that former Air chief S P Tyagi and Gautam Khaitan, both accused in the case, are "small people" who "simply washed their hands in a flowing ganga (of corruption)" and that the government will 'find out where the river was going'.
He also said that Bharatiya Janata Party MP Subramanian Swamy has not lied about the deal but it seems he has been misled.
Saxena, a director of Dubai-based firms UHY Saxena and Matrix Holdings, is one of the accused named in the chargesheet filed by the ED in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland scam.
Rubbishing Congress' claim of having blacklisted AgustaWestland, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said he had as defence minister in June 2014 put the transaction to buy 12 helicopters from the Italian firm on hold and in July barred any future contract with it.
The commission has also sought records related to the termination of the deal to be presented before it in an in camera proceedings for its perusal before deciding whether they can be disclosed under the RTI Act or they attract its exemption clauses.
Congress MP Shantaram Naik on Tuesday gave a notice for breach of privilege against Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy in Rajya Sabha.
In the matter pertaining to acquisition of AgustaWestland helicopters, the undisputed central issue that stands out is corruption, especially bribery, the statement said.
The Congress on Monday alleged that a Chinese national played a 'dubious role' in the Adani Group's activities and asked the government if it was not concerned that the conglomerate may be involving that person in important defence contracts.
The ED named former Air Force Chief S P Tyagi, his two cousins, lawyer Gautam Khaitan, two Italian middlemen and Finmeccanica in its chargesheet.
Parrikar had recently challenged the Congress to show the order by the UPA government confirming the blacklisting.
Michel may prove to be the missing link in the money trail in the alleged multi-crore scam being probed by the CBI.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has started another probe against UK-based helicopter supplier AgustaWestland for alleged corruption in the supply of Light Utility Helicopters to Army.
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