The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the petition filed by Christian Michel James, who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for his alleged involvement in the Agusta Westland chopper scam worth Rs 3600 crore.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice J.B. Pardiwala, while dismissing the petition filed under Section 436A of CrPC, granted liberty to the petitioner to approach the trial court for regular bail.
Both CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have filed separate cases against James for his alleged role of middleman in the Rs 3,600-crore scam related to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from Agusta Westland, an Anglo-Italian helicopter design and manufacturing company.
James was extradited from Dubai on December 4, 2018 and subsequently arrested by CBI and ED. He has since remained in jail.
The Supreme Court had, on December 6 last year, heard the petition filed by James Michel, challenging Delhi High Court’s order of dismissing his bail pleas.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice P.S. Narasimha enquired from the respondents whether it was appropriate to completely deprive Michel of his liberty simply because he was a foreign national and asked the counsels to submit a note to assist the court.
Advocate Aljo K. Joseph, appearing for the petitioner, had submitted that his case was squarely covered under Section 436A of CrPC and that he had almost finished the maximum sentence of five years for the offences that he had been alleged with. The Counsel had added that the investigation in the matter had been going on for the past nine years and was still nowhere near to be completed.
The Bench then expressed its concern over the relationship between the treaty and the statute. CJI Chandrachud observed that as per its statute, a person could only face trial under the offences for which he surrendered or was extradited. The limitation imposed by the statute could not be removed by a treaty.
The Bench further expressed concerns over the complexity of trial, noting that as many as 250 witnesses were yet to be examined. It further said that Michel has remained in jail for more than four years now.
The CJI observed that just because James was a foreign national, it did not warrant a complete deprivation of his liberty. He added that the Apex Court also could not impose some conditions on him to ensure his appearance.
The Supreme Court had directed the respondents to submit a small note on the facts, especially on Section 436A. This would enable the Supreme Court to interpret law based on facts, said the CJI.