New Delhi
The Supreme Court granted bail to Christian Mitchell James, who has been detained for six years in the AgustaWestland case. Mitchell was allegedly middleman in the AgustaWestland helicopter scam. CBI and ED are investigating its role in the purchase of 12 VVI helicopters worth Rs 3600 crore. He was detained in December 2018 after he was extradited from Dubai.
A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta said that James has been in custody for the last six years, while the investigation of the case is still going on. The apex court said that James would be released on bail under the conditions fixed by the lower court. James moved the apex court challenging the Delhi High Court order to refuse to bail in the case.
CBI and ED have filed separate cases
The CBI and Enforcement Directorate have registered two separate cases in connection with the AgustaWestland scam. Significantly, this alleged scam of Rs 3,600 crore is related to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland. Christian Michelle James is a resident of Britain. He was extradited from Dubai in December 2018.
Bail petition dismissed by Supreme Court
Michelle James’s bail plea was rejected by the Supreme Court in 2023. He had said in a petition filed in the Supreme Court that he should be released on bail on the basis that he has serving half the sentence in the cases. After this, in 2024, he again filed a bail petition in the Supreme Court, which the Supreme Court refused to hear. Subsequently, in December 2024, the Supreme Court sought a response from the CBI on Mitchell’s bail plea.
Instructions were given to arrange surgery
On January 12, a Delhi court directed AIIMS to arrange hip replacement surgery for British citizen Christian Mitchell James jailed in the AgustaWestland case. Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal gave this order on Mitchell’s petition. In the petition, Mitchell claimed that his total hip replacement surgery could not be avoided as he was suffering from excessive pain in day-to-day activities. Michelle, who was extradited from Britain in 2018, claimed that doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have advised surgery.
