AgustaWestland case: Court rejects bail plea of British citizen Christian Michel James

A special court on Friday dismissed the bail petitions of alleged middleman Christian Michel James, a British citizen in both CBI and ED cases in connection with the AgustaWestland case.

Advocates DP Singh and NK Matta representing probe agencies had opposed the bail petitions. Michel is being probed in two cases relating to the AgustaWestland deal being probed by CBI and ED.

In his bail plea filed through advocates Aljo K. Joseph, Sriram P and Vishnu Shankar, the accused has expressed willingness to cooperate with the investigation.

"The Applicant (Michel) will be available to join the investigation any future investigation and trial, as and when required and has never sought to evade the process of law," read the bail copy.

The advocates told the court that Michel has made no attempt to suborn witnesses, tamper with documentary evidence, or in any other manner pollute or obstruct the judicial process and further, the applicant undertakes that he shall not, tamper with evidence or influence witnesses, nor is there any reasonable or justifiable apprehension thereof.

Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the deal, was deported from the UAE and is currently in judicial custody.

A Dubai-based businessman, Rajeev Saxena, was also extradited to India on January 31, 2019 in connection with the Rs 3,600-crore alleged scam relating to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland.

( With inputs from ANI )