Today (18th March): The Supreme Court has denied bail to Christian Michel James, a key figure in the AgustaWestland Group scam case. James, alleged to be a middleman in the scandal involving the purchase of VVIP helicopters, had sought bail, but the court refused to entertain his plea, citing the seriousness of the accusations.
NEW DELHI: On Monday (18th March): The Supreme Court denied to entertain a fresh bail plea from Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman under investigation by the CBI and the ED in connection with the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper scam. The case pertains to the procurement of 12 VVIP helicopters.
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James, who was extradited from Dubai in December 2018, had sought bail on the grounds that he cannot be charged for offenses beyond those specified in the extradition decree and should thus benefit from the doctrine of speciality.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra questioned the filing of an Article 32 petition in this instance, emphasizing the repetitive nature of arguments previously addressed.
“How can you file the Article 32 (one of provisions in the Constitution which gives right to move the SC for enforcement of fundamental rights) petition in this case?” asked a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
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The counsel for the extradited accused said
“he has been in jail for the last five years and this can be the maximum sentence that can be awarded to him in case of conviction”.
The recent plea comes after the Supreme Court denied bail to James on February 7 last year, directing him to pursue regular bail remedies through the trial court. James had invoked section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which allows for bail if half of the maximum sentence for the offense has been served.
Previously, the Delhi High Court, in a March 11, 2022 order, had dismissed James’s bail pleas in both CBI and ED cases. A trial court had also rejected his bail pleas in 2021, citing the seriousness of the accusations, the gravity of the offense, and the conduct of the accused.
The CBI has alleged a loss of 398.21 million euros (approximately Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer in its charge sheet, while the ED has accused James of receiving 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland. James, along with two other alleged middlemen Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa, remains under investigation in the case.
