Court reserves order on Ratul Puri's bail plea in AgustaWestland case

A Delhi Court on Friday reserved order on the regular bail petition filed by businessman Ratul Puri in AgustaWestland money laundering case.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in the purchase of 12 VVIP choppers from Italy-based Finmeccanica's British subsidiary -- AgustaWestland. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Puri on September 4. He is currently under the judicial custody in Tihar jail.

Following his arrest, Puri, who is the nephew of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, sought bail in the case. It was, however, opposed by the ED.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar reserved the order on the bail plea after the conclusion of arguments from both sides. It is likely to pass the order on December 2 at 4 pm.

The court recently took cognisance of a sixth charge sheet filed by the probe agency in the case.

The ED, in its charge sheet, submitted that AgustaWestland gave 17 million Euros as kickbacks which reached Puri through two channels -- Interseller and the firms owned by Christian Michel, a middleman in the chopper deal.