AgustaWestland: Delhi HC reserves order on Christian Michel's bail plea

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday reserved its order on a plea of alleged middleman Christian Michel James seeking modification of his bail conditions in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland money laundering case.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma heard the counsel for James and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and said she would pass a detailed order in the matter.

Michel, who joined the proceedings from Tihar Jail through video-conferencing, confirmed filing the plea through his lawyer.

The court previously asked Michel whether he had filed the application through his counsel for the modification of bail conditions.

James sought relaxing the bail condition which asked him to furnish a surety of Rs 5 lakh aside from asking to revoke the condition of surrendering his passport.

His old passport expired and the process of obtaining a new one is likely to take at least four-eight weeks, his plea said.

James' counsel said he couldn't be made to languish in jail even after securing bail till his passport got renewed.

James, he added, was a foreign national and no one from India would come forward to stand surety for him.

The ED counsel opposed the plea saying both bail conditions were just, fair and reasonable and James was a foreign national, with no roots in India.

If he furnished no local surety, there was no way to ensure his presence in India, he added.

Considering his previous conduct, the ED said it would be difficult to secure his presence in future if the condition was waived off.

The ED objected to the plea saying he could undertake the process of renewal of his passport and the high court could direct the embassy that once the passport was renewed, it should be handed over to the investigating officer or sent straightaway to the trial court to curtail any misuse.

On March 4, the high court granted him bail in the ED case whereas the Supreme Court granted him the reprieve in a related CBI case on February 18.

Probe agencies reported irregularities in the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from Italian manufacturing company AgustaWestland.

James was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 and was subsequently arrested by the CBI and the ED.

He is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case and the other two are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.

The CBI, in its chargesheet, claimed an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer due to the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010, for the supply of VVIP choppers worth 556.262 million euros.

The ED chargesheet filed against James in June 2016 alleged he received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.