New Delhi. The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will hear on November 28 the bail pleas of Christian Michel James, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland chopper scam, in which the Central Bureau of Investigation (BBI) is investigating. The CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have registered two separate cases.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Hima Kohli and Justice JB Pardiwala said that the two separate bail applications may be heard on Monday. A counsel for the probe agencies said Additional Solicitor General SV Raju would appear in the matter and since he was traveling today, the hearing be adjourned. The advocate said that apart from this, a letter requesting for adjournment of the hearing has also been given. “We will commence the hearing on Monday and then keep it (the matter) as a part-hearing completed,” the bench said.
Earlier in May this year, the apex court had sought response from the CBI and the ED on the bail pleas. The alleged scam of Rs 3,600 crore pertains to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland.
During the previous hearing, the counsel for the accused had submitted that the case falls under Section 436A of the CrPC (the maximum period for which an undertrial can be detained) and he has already served 50 per cent of the sentence for the offense he committed. He is accused of giving His lawyer had said that the accused was extradited from Dubai and since then he is in custody and the investigation is still not complete.
The counsel had said that Michel’s contention is that under sections 8 and 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the maximum punishment is five years and he has already served about four years. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the probe agencies, had submitted that it was with great difficulty that the probe agency got their custody and section 436A would not apply to the ED proceedings. He said that Michel is a resident of Britain and he was extradited from Dubai.
Michel has challenged the Delhi High Court order of March 11 in which his bail plea was rejected. While seeking his release in both the CBI and ED cases, the accused had said that he was not required for the probe and expressed his willingness to cooperate with the probe.
Last year, while rejecting bail pleas in both the CBI and ED cases, a trial court had said that considering the overall facts and circumstances, the serious nature of the allegations, the seriousness of the offense and the conduct of the accused, it was inclined to grant bail in the matter. not considered suitable. Michel was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 and was subsequently arrested by both the probe agencies.
