The Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition by Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam, seeking his release from jail. The court found no merit in his challenge to the India-UAE extradition treaty and a trial court order.
The Supreme Court has referred Christian Michel James' plea for release in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam case to another bench. The Delhi High Court previously dismissed his petition, but James continues to challenge his detention and the India-UAE extradition treaty.
The Delhi High Court has dismissed Christian Michel James's petition for release in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam case, upholding his continued detention.
The Supreme Court has granted bail to alleged middleman Christian Michel James in the purported Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland case. James had been in custody for six years while the investigation was ongoing. The alleged scam relates to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland. James, a British national, was extradited from Dubai in December 2018.
A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to former defence secretary Shashi Kant Sharma in a case related to the AgustaWestland chopper scam.
The CBI has been carrying out searches at various locations for the past few days to locate assets acquired from the proceeds of the scam, officials said.
Facing the prospect of cancellation of its Rs 3,600 crore deal to supply 12 VVIP choppers to the IAF, AgustaWestland has sought a meeting with the defence ministry to explain its stand on the issue.
Faced with the prospect of the nixing of its Rs 3,600 crore deal for the supply of 12 VVIP choppers, AgustaWestland today denied it had violated any contractual obligations in the pact for the same with IAF.
Nitin Gokhale, national security expert and founder BharatShakti.in, tells us what the controversy is all about.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a supplementary charge sheet in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland scam against former defence secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and four Indian Air Force personnel, officials said Wednesday.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied bail to Christian Michel James, an alleged middlemen in the AgustaWestland chopper scam cases, who is being probed by both the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate.
"I am always being targeted, happy to be targeted," he told reporters while entering Parliament House.
The court put various conditions on Khaitan, including that he will not tamper with the evidence or try to contact or influence the witnesses and join the investigation as and when called.
Staring at the prospect of being blacklisted in the wake of the chopper scam, Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland has approached the Finance Ministry for release of nearly Rs 2,400 crore which has been put on hold by the defence ministry pending inquiry into the case.
The ED named former Air Force Chief S P Tyagi, his two cousins, lawyer Gautam Khaitan, two Italian middlemen and Finmeccanica in its chargesheet.
Christian Michel's investigation in New Delhi has revealed nothing substantial, contrary to the expectations of the prime minister and the media hype. A fascinating excerpt from Raju Santhanam's The Untold Story of Christian Michel and Agustawestland.
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.
Parrikar also took a dig at Congress president Sonia Gandhi, saying translation from Italian was not easy 'at least for the ruling side. May not be a difficult task for the Opposition'.
'Narendra Modi knows that the Congress without the Gandhis is a more formidable and more dangerous adversary.'
Swamy had been instructed by the deputy speaker of the Rajya Sabha that if he failed to do so, his remarks during the Agusta debate would be struck off.
Bharti accused the media of distorting her statement, attributing it to the BJP's agenda.
In a bid to corner the Congress after it launched a tirade against it for imposition of President's rule in Uttarakhand, the ruling dispensation has decided to raise issues of AgustaWestland Chopper scam, Aircel Maxis scam and the Ishrat Jahan case in the Parliament on Wednesday.
The deal was "put on hold" only in 2013 after corruption was "proved", he said adding the Congress chief should answer who was behind the delay.
The stage is set for another stormy week in the Parliament. The Opposition and the government has been at loggerheads over the VVIP chopper scam since the time a Milan court gave its verdict.
A high-level team headed by defence ministry's director general (acquisition) today left for Italy to go through the crucial documents and evidence provided to India by the government there in the Rs 362 crore VVIP chopper scam.
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.
Along with Tyagi, his cousin Sanjiv alias Julie Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan were also arrested.
British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in Mumbai on Monday morning on a three-day India visit during which will he meet captains of industry and hold talks with top leaders, who are likely to seek more information on the VVIP helicopters scam involving an Anglo-Italian firm.
An Italian court, hearing the VVIP chopper deal scam case, has rejected India's request for documents related to the investigations into the matter, arguing that the "information is covered by secrecy".
The Bharatiya Janata Party plans to target Sonia Gandhi and other Congress leaders on the issue of bribes in the AgustaWestland chopper deal during the United Progressive Alliance regime
India on Friday made a fresh request to Italy for information on alleged kickbacks in supply of Rs 3600-crore worth of AgustaWestland's VVIP helicopters.
The AgustaWestland issue was fiercely debated in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress blaming each other.
In an off-shoot of VVIP helicopter deal scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against a Brigadier attached to Army Aviation for allegedly fudging trial flight records of the copters.
Officials said the agency has sought property details on ten serving and retired officials of the ministry of defence and the IAF.
Others named in the chargesheet include alleged European middlemen in the deal, Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschke.
Government is awaiting a report from its embassy and team in Italy to get a final picture on whether Defence Minister A K Antony has been listed as a witness in the VVIP chopper scam trial by a court there.
The AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal will once again dominate the proceedings in Parliament on Thursday.
Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah on Saturday attacked Rahul Gandhi after the Congress vice president questioned the NDA government's achievements, saying it was no mean feat that even the opposition has been unable to level any corruption charges against it.
Claiming to be innocent, he said he might have some information which could enable the Indian authorities to progress with their probe into the scandal.
Italian prosecutors have "shelved" proceedings against defence major Finmeccannica, the parent firm of AgustaWestland, saying it had nothing to do with the alleged corruption in India's Rs 3,600-crore deal to procure 12 VVIP helicopters, Italian news agency Ansa reported.
