Explore Business Standard
AgustaWestland Scam
A court here on Wednesday directed the director general of Delhi prisons to submit a report on the conduct of Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland case, during his incarceration. Hearing James' application for production of conduct report, Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal said, "Issue notice of the above application to the ED as well as to the superintendent (of the) jail concerned (in) Tihar with directions to the DG (Prisons), Delhi, to file a consolidated report qua the above application positively on or before March 18." The court previously imposed bail conditions in the cases against James, who was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 before being arrested by the CBI and the ED later. James is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case. The other two are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa. The CBI, in its chargesheet, claimed an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer due to the AgustaWestland de
Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in AgustaWestland case, on Friday offered to "finish his sentence" and leave India instead of walking out on bail owing to "security risks". James was addressing special judge Sanjeev Aggarwal when he made the plea. Following the reprieve in the CBI and ED cases against him, the special court imposed the necessary bail conditions for releasing him on bail. While the Delhi High Court on March 4 granted him bail in the ED case and directed for saddling Michel with the necessary bail riders, the Supreme Court on February 18 granted the relief in the CBI case subject to the trial court's conditions. On Friday, the judge asked James, "How are you now? God has been kind to you in the last two months. You have got bail in both cases." James, however, said, "Delhi is just a larger prison. My family cannot come to me...My security is at risk. I would rather complete my sentence and leave the country." The judge asked Michel how could he continu
The Delhi High Court will on Tuesday deliver its verdict on the bail plea of alleged middleman Christian Michel James in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland money laundering case. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who reserved the verdict on February 28 after hearing the parties, is scheduled to pronounce the judgement at 4 pm. The Supreme Court granted bail to him in the CBI case on February 18. Probe agencies reported irregularities in the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from Italian manufacturing company AgustaWestland. The ED's counsel had opposed Michel's plea, saying the British national did not meet the "twin tests" for grant of bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and was a flight risk. Michel's lawyer sought the relief on grounds that he had already spent a substantial amount of time in custody. He had submitted while the anti-money laundering law has a maximum punishment of seven years, he spent over six years in jail. James was extradited from Dubai in December
The Supreme Court on Monday deferred to February 18 the bail hearing of alleged middleman Christian Michel James, accused in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland corruption case. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta adjourned the hearing after the CBI counsel sought time. The top court granted three weeks time and posted the hearing on February 18. On December 6, the apex court issued notice to CBI and directed it to file its reply within four weeks. The alleged scam is over the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from chopper design and manufacturing company AgustaWestland. James moved the apex court challenging the Delhi High Court's bail rejection order passed on September 25. James, a British national, was extradited from Dubai in December, 2018, and was arrested subsequently. The high court had dismissed his bail plea, observing there was no significant change in circumstances from the time when his previous pleas were rejected. He is among the three alleged middleme
A Delhi court has directed AIIMS to arrange hip replacement surgery for jailed British national Christian Michel James, the alleged middleman arrested in 2018 in a money laundering case connected to the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper case. Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal passed the order on an application filed by James who has claimed that his total hip replacement surgery could not be avoided, considering that he was suffering from "excruciating pain" in day-to-day activities. James, who was extradited in 2018, claimed that the doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) had advised the surgery. "The Director, AIIMS is requested to arrange for the total hip surgery, as advised by the doctors of AIIMS as per the medical prescription dated December 30, 2024, and to fix the surgery i.e. total hip replacement, as stated in the report, preferably, in the first/second week of February, 2025 as per the convenience of the operating surgeon," the judge said in an .
The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied bail to Christian Michel James, an alleged middlemen in AgustaWestland chopper scam cases, who is being probed by both the CBI and Enforcement Directorate. 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. 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.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would hear on February 7 the bail pleas of Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland chopper scam in which the CBI and the ED have lodged two separate cases. The matter came up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, which said the pleas would be heard next Tuesday. The Rs 3,600-crore alleged scam relates to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland. In May last year, the apex court had sought the responses of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the bail pleas of James. During an earlier hearing, the counsel for the accused had said the case was covered under section 436A of the CrPC (maximum period for which an under trial prisoner can be detained) and James had served 50 per cent of the sentence for the offence allegedly committed by him. The accused was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 a