AgustaWestland: ED says Christian Michel's plea for release misleading
The EDs in its reply said, 'That with respect to the submissions made by the accused Christian Michel James that he has already undergone the period of maximum sentence prescribed for the offences for which he was extradited to India from United Arab Emirates, so, he is entitled to be released by virtue of the provisions of section 436 A of CrPC it is most respectfully submitted that the aforesaid submissions are misleading and devoid of any merits." Section 436 A of the erstwhile CrPC deals with maximum period for which an under trial prisoner can be detained.
The ED reply said under the prevention of money laundering act (PMLA) provision, the the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence of money laundering was seven years.
'The date of the arrest in the present case being December 22, 2018, the maximum period of imprisonment provided for the offence has yet not expired and therefore the present entitlement sought by the accused under the provisions of section 436A of CrPC is premature and is therefore liable to be dismissed," it added.
On August 4, the ED and CBI opposed the plea of Michel's counsel Aljo K Joseph that he was entitled to be released under provisions of Section 436A of the CrPC.
James was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 and was subsequently arrested by the CBI and the ED.
He was granted bail in the CBI case by the Supreme Court on February 18 this year.
Two weeks later, he was granted bail in the ED case by the Delhi High Court.
Michel, however, has not furnished bail bonds and remains in Tihar prison, awaiting the renewal of his passport.
The ED chargesheet led against James in June 2016 alleged that he received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland. PTI MNR MNR AMK AMK
view comments
First Published:
August 05, 2025, 20:15 IST
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
19 minutes ago
- Hans India
Teacher gets 20- yr jail in POCSO case
Ongole: The POCSO Court at Ongole has sentenced a computer teacher to 20 years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 in a case involving sexual harassment of a minor student. The convicted individual, Bommu Pedda Veeraiah (33), from Eguvaramapuram village in Kalasapadu mandal of Kadapa district, was found guilty of sexually harassing a minor girl from Giddalur mandal who studied at the same school where he worked as a computer teacher. According to the case details, Veeraiah had been harassing the girl since seventh grade. Before her tenth-grade examinations, Veeraiah's inappropriate behaviour in the laboratory prompted the girl to inform her mother, who complained to the school principal. However, the harassment continued. During Dussehra holidays in 2018, while the victim was visiting home from Tirupati, where she was pursuing Intermediate studies, Veeraiah threatened to post her nude photographs on social media and demanded money and gold. When the victim brought the demanded items, he lured her to Kachiguda in Telangana state under the pretext of deleting the photos, where he sexually assaulted her at a lodge and later at a rented house. Following the family complaint, Giddalur police registered a case. They conducted investigations under the supervision of then Markapur DSP G Nageswara Reddy and Darsi DSP K Prakash Rao, leading to the arrest of accused. On Wednesday, POCSO Court Judge K Shailaja delivered the verdict after effective prosecution by Special Public Prosecutor Gottipatii Srinivasarao. The court also ordered Rs 2 lakh compensation for the victim through the District Legal Services Authority. Prakasam district SP AR Damodar praised the investigating officers and emphasised that perpetrators of sexual crimes against children and women cannot escape the law.
India Today
19 minutes ago
- India Today
Two key Bengal cricket board officials face allegations of financial misconduct
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) is facing internal turbulence as two of its senior officials — Joint Secretary Debabrata Das and Treasurer Prabir Chakraborty — come under the scanner for alleged financial irregularities and misuse of Das, a prominent figure in the Bengal cricketing circuit, has been issued a show cause notice by the CAB. He has been accused of withholding nearly Rs 7 lakh in ticket revenue from the association and retaining money meant for East Bengal and Town Club's tournament participation. The CAB has asked Das to clear the dues within 15 days. While this specific issue was addressed at the recent Apex Council meeting, other serious allegations — including the acceptance of funds in return for team selections — remain controversy surrounding Das is not new. He was earlier involved in a public spat with former India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, who accused him of questioning his commitment to the Bengal team. The fallout led to Saha's move to Tripura. In another development, CAB Treasurer Prabir Chakraborty has been accused of a conflict of interest. A complaint filed by the Wari Club was referred by the Ombudsman back to the Apex Council, which has now forwarded it again to the Ombudsman for a formal investigation. Chakraborty has also been directed to submit a Utilization Certificate (UC) detailing how club funds were of the more explosive allegations against Das includes misusing CAB's resources by routing Town Club players' food bills through the association's canteen account. He has also been accused of taking money from players in exchange for promises of Bengal team selection. The Aditya School of Sports has filed a complaint claiming that Das accepted Rs 4 lakh from them in return for a promise of CAB club contacted, Debabrata Das declined to comment, citing that the matter is sub developments come at a time when CAB is under growing pressure to maintain transparency and accountability. The Apex Council's decisions signal a crucial step towards restoring integrity and public trust in Bengal cricket's administration.- Ends
NDTV
34 minutes ago
- NDTV
All 4 Accused In Kolkata Rape Case Remanded To Police Custody
Kolkata: In what is being claimed as a first-of-its-kind order by a court in Kolkata, all four accused in the South Calcutta Law College rape case were remanded to police custody for an additional period of three days, 39 days after they were first arrested. The prime accused in the case, Monojit Mishra, an alumnus and a contractual employee of the college, and two of his suspected accomplices, Pramit Mukhopadhyay and Zaib Ahmed, both students, along with Pinaki Banerjee, security guard of the campus, were granted police custody till August 8 by Amit Sarkar, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate of Alipore Court. The order was passed on Tuesday in the wake of all four accused having previously been remanded to police custody for 11 days, followed by their judicial custody for another 28 days. "Under the provisions of Section 167 of the earlier CrPC Act, the prayer for police remand had to be made within the first 15 days of arrest. That provision has now changed under the new Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which replaced the CrPC on July 1, 2024. The BNSS now empowers the police to pray for remand anytime within the first 60 days of arrest for heinous crimes like rape and murder," Sourin Ghosal, the Kolkata Police Chief Public Prosecutor in Alipore Court, explained. "But this was the first time that the relevant clauses of BNSS were invoked in a court in Kolkata and, possibly, in the entire West Bengal and in which the judge found merit," Mr Ghoshal added. He said that the prayer for additional police remand of the accused was made in the light of fresh reports received by the investigators from cyber and forensic experts. "The statements previously made by the accused and the reports we have now received do not match in many places. Hence, there is a need to freshly interrogate the accused in police custody and, if required, they may be made to sit face to face to get to the bottom of the alleged crime," Mr Ghoshal said. In its order, the ACJM court, Alipore, rejected the defence counsel's prayer for bail and held that Section 47 of the BNSS, which mandates the police to inform the arrested person of the grounds of arrest and right to bail, has been "duly complied" with. "It transpires from the prayer of the prosecution that PC is required for the purpose of pending investigations and so more fully described in the forwarding report of the IO. On perusal of the CD (case diary), I do find incriminating materials available against all the accused persons," the judge stated in his order. "All these aspects seem to this Court to be much of the essence and importance so far as investigation of this case is concerned, but the case itself is very grave and heinous to say the least. The purpose of the investigation of this case can be well served if the police custody of the present accused persons is granted by this court as prayed for," the order goes on to add. The shocking on-campus rape was alleged by a first-year student at the law college in south Kolkata's Kasba area where she named Mishra as the principal perpetrator of the crime and both Mukhopadhyay and Ahmed as accomplices. While the crime allegedly took place between 7.30 pm and 10.50 pm on June 25, the three accused were arrested on the intervening night of June 26 and 27. They were subsequently produced in Alipore court and remanded in police custody on June 27. A day later, the on-duty security guard of the campus during the time of the alleged crime, was also booked and remanded in custody. All accused have since been produced before the court thrice for extension of police remand and their subsequent judicial custody. The Kolkata Police prayed for the maximum term of custody for all the accused after they had served two back-to-back judicial remands of 28 days.
