Chopper scam: SC asks Christian Michel to move Delhi HC for interim bail

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to take up a plea by Christian Michel, an extradited middleman in the AgustaWestland scam case, for bail on the ground of COVID-19 situation.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah asked the counsel for Michel to approach the Delhi High Court for the purpose.

Besides citing the threat of Coronavirus inside Tihar jail, the counsel cited the top court's recent order for decongesting jails and releasing the inmates faced with the offences with a maximum of seven years of jail.

The petition by him contended the presence of subjects, who have been tested positive of Covid-19 in Tihar jail, posed a threat to his life because of his age and ill-health.

The 59-year-old British national feared risk of getting the contagion inside the prison here.

Michel 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.