SC refuses to consider bail plea by extradited middleman in AgustaWestland scam

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to consider a plea for bail moved by Christian Michel James, an extradited middleman in AgustaWestland scam case, on his fear of contracting COVID-19 in jail here.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and B R Gavai upheld the Delhi High Court's order that the petitioner's case did not fall in the criteria for granting interim bail.

In his application, Michel said that his age is 59 years and he has a history of bad health, making him vulnerable to the coronavirus.

He also relied upon a Supreme Court's order asking the States and the Union Territories to set up high level committees and determine prisoners who could be released on parole so as to avoid overcrowding in prisons in the wake of COVID-19.

The Delhi High Court, however, has dismissed his bail plea terming his apprehension that he may contract the disease in jail as “unfounded”.

The 59-year-old British national was arrested in the UAE and extradited to India on December 4, 2018. He had earlier failed in several bids to seek bail.

He faced charges of corruption and money laundering in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper purchase scam.

Michel is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The others are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.

According to the CBI, there was an estimated loss of Euro 398.21 million (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer in the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010 for the supply of VVIP choppers worth Euro 556.262 million.