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.
The Delhi high court granted bail to alleged middleman Christian Michel James in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland money laundering case on Tuesday. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, while granting the reprieve to James, said it was an "exceptional situation" where the accused was in custody for over 6.2 years but the trial had not yet commenced due to incomplete investigation. James, who was extradited from Dubai in December 2018, can now walk out of prison subject to compliance with the conditions.
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.
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.
In a statement, the Youth Congress said Joseph represented Michel in his personal capacity and did not consult the party before appearing in the case.
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.
The ED also told the special court that Christian Michel had spoken about 'the son of the Italian lady' and how he is going to become the 'next prime minister of the country'.
Besides Joseph, one of the lawyers defending Michel is a member of the Congress' youth wing while the father of another is a party member, Patra claimed at a press conference.
Michel's counsel appeared with the application before Special Judge Arvind Kumar who issued notice to the probe agency and sought its reply by Saturday when he will take up the matter.
The threat to him was given before he was extradited to New Delhi, he said.
Shah said the 'friendship' between Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the deal, and Congress' top leadership is 'time tested and deep'.
Michel, who was extradited from Dubai recently, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on December 22 and sent to a seven-day custody of the agency over money-laundering charges in the scam by a court.
A special court denied Christian Michel bail in the related Central Bureau of Investigation case.
A bail plea was also moved on his behalf. The court did not give any specific date for hearing the bail plea.
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.
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