AgustaWestland chopper scam case: Supreme Court rejects bail plea of Christian Michel James
Dismissing the bail pleas in both the cases last year, a trial court had said considering the overall facts and circumstances, the serious nature of accusations, the gravity of the offence and the conduct of the accused, it did not consider it to be a fit case for the grant of bail.
FollowThe Supreme Court on Tuesday (February 7) denied bail to Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in AgustaWestland chopper scam cases, who is being probed by both the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The Rs 3,600-crore alleged scam relates to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala said James' argument that he be released on bail on ground that he has served half of the maximum sentence in the cases cannot be accepted.
Also read: Rahul Gandhi slams Centre over Adani row, unemployment in Parliament
It, however, said James may pursue his remedy of regular bail before the trial court in the cases. James has sought bail under section 436A of CrPC which says that a person can be released on bail if he has completed half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence.
Dismissing the bail pleas in both the cases last year, a trial court had said considering the overall facts and circumstances, the serious nature of accusations, the gravity of the offence and the conduct of the accused, it did not consider it to be a fit case for the grant of bail.
Also read: Jamia violence case: Delhi Police move HC challenging order discharging Sharjeel Imam, 10 others
In its charge sheet, the CBI has alleged an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer due to the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010, for the supply of VVIP choppers worth 556.262 million euros to the Indian government.
The ED, in its chargesheet filed against James in June 2016, has alleged that James had received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.
