AgustaWestland case: Delhi HC eases bail terms for Christian Michel James

Delhi High Court eases bail conditions for Christian Michel in the ₹3,600-crore AgustaWestland money laundering case, allowing cash surety and deferring passport deposit due to expiry

In partial relief to Christian Michel James, the alleged middleman in the ₹3,600-crore AgustaWestland money laundering case, the Delhi High Court on Thursday eased his bail conditions.

 

  Noting that James is a foreign national with no ties to India and has been unable to secure a local surety, the court adjusted his earlier bail conditions, according to PTI report. Instead of submitting both a personal and surety bond of ₹5 lakh each, James is now required to furnish only a personal bond of ₹5 lakh, along with a cash surety of ₹10 lakh.

 

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma also altered the condition requiring James to surrender his passport. Since the passport has already expired, the court ruled that he need not deposit it "immediately" as a condition for bail.

 

New safeguards imposed

The court said, “The FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office) shall ensure that the applicant does not leave the country, and the British High Commission (or the concerned authority issuing the applicant's passport) shall ensure that the applicant's fresh passport, whenever the same is ready, is not handed over to the applicant, but directly deposited with the trial court under intimation to this court.”

 

The HC maintained that the modified passport condition must be “strictly adhered to” and that the passport should not be released without the court’s permission.

 

The High Court also pointed out the importance of the accused’s presence during the trial while adding that any relaxation in bail terms should not affect the trial’s continuity. The bench further said that while the court can consider genuine difficulties in providing sureties, it must also maintain adequate safeguards to prevent the accused from fleeing.

Additional bail conditions to be followed

Justice Sharma instructed James to comply with all conditions set by the trial court. This includes physically reporting to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office or the designated investigating officer every 15 days.

 

"The applicant shall also furnish the details of his residential address where he intends to reside post-release. Before being released from jail, the said address will be verified by the trial court through the Enforcement Directorate," the court added.

Accused cites practical difficulties

James had asked the court to relax the ₹5 lakh surety condition, saying that being a foreigner, no one in India was willing to act as his surety. He also requested exemption from surrendering his expired passport, arguing that getting a new one could take four to eight weeks.

 

His lawyer, Aljo K Joseph, argued that James should not be kept in custody after being granted bail, simply because his passport was under renewal. “Till his passport is renewed, he cannot be made to languish in jail even after securing bail,” he said.

ED opposed relaxation

Meanwhile, the ED opposed any changes, saying that the bail conditions were reasonable. Their counsel pointed out that since James has no connections in India, securing his presence without a local surety would be difficult. They argued that his past conduct suggested there would be challenges in ensuring his future appearance in court.

 

The ED further suggested that the court could instruct the embassy to hand over James' renewed passport directly to the trial court or the investigating officer to avoid misuse.

AgustaWestland case: Background

James was granted bail by the Delhi High Court in the ED case on March 4. Earlier, the Supreme Court had also granted him relief in a related CBI case on February 18.

 

The case concerns alleged corruption and money laundering in the procurement of 12 VVIP helicopters from Italian firm AgustaWestland. James was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 and subsequently arrested by both the CBI and ED.

 

He is one of three alleged middlemen under investigation, alongside Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.

 

According to the CBI, the deal signed on February 8, 2010, caused an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (approximately ₹2,666 crore) to the Indian government. The ED’s charge-sheet, filed in June 2016, alleged that James received 30 million euros (around ₹225 crore) from AgustaWestland.