Delhi HC reserves order on AgustaWestland middleman Christian Michel James's plea to modify bail conditions
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday reserved its order on a plea made by Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland chopper scam case, to modify his bail conditions such as depositing Rs 5 lakh as surety and surrendering his passport.
James, who was extradited from the UAE in 2018, also virtually joined the proceedings at the court of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma from jail.
Michel's counsel, Aljo Joseph, told the court that since his client was a foreign national, no individual from India would come forward to stand as a surety for him and that he had no friends or family in India. 'It is next to impossible to get an Indian surety. Nobody will furnish surety for him. This condition he cannot fulfil at all,' Joseph said.
'I have applied for the passport. A UK citizen who is applying for a passport from any foreign country will take a minimum of 8-12 weeks. I cannot submit the passport as on date,' he added.
Meanwhile, James said in the court that he was '10 weeks away from completing my sentence'.
The Enforcement Directorate, however, said the bail conditions were 'fair and reasonable'.
James was granted bail in March by Justice Sharma in the ED case against him, noting that the case 'presents an exceptional situation' where James had been in custody for over six years but the trial had 'not even commenced due to the incomplete investigation'.
Justice Sharma took into consideration the fact that investigation had not been concluded, charges had not been framed, trial had not begun, and that James had already been granted bail in the related CBI case by the Supreme Court.
On February 18, while granting bail to James in the 2013 CBI case, the Supreme Court also pointed to the delay in trial.
In its chargesheet, the ED has alleged that James received 30 million euros (approximately Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland to facilitate the deal for the purchase of 12 VVIP choppers for the Indian Air Force. He was booked on money laundering charges after a complaint was lodged against him on July 3, 2014.
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