Delhi Court Denies Release Plea of Alleged Middleman in AgustaWestland Case

A Delhi court has dismissed the plea of Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case, for release on the grounds of having completed the maximum sentence of seven years for the alleged crimes.

Special Judge Sanjay Jindal, in his order dated August 7, noted that Section 467 of the IPC, relevant to forgery of valuable securities, could warrant life imprisonment, thus invalidating claims of completed sentence duration by the accused. The court also highlighted that higher courts have already evaluated Michel's requests for release, deeming them unmerited under Section 436A of the CrPC due to pending serious charges.

Extradited from Dubai in 2018, Michel was previously granted bail in separate CBI and ED cases but hasn't met the bail bond requirements, keeping him in Tihar prison. The charges pertain to substantial financial losses to the exchequer linked to the 2010 VVIP chopper deal, with allegations of him receiving millions from AgustaWestland.

(With inputs from agencies.)