The Delhi High Court on Thursday modified the bail conditions of British national Christian Michel, paving the way for his release from jail in the money laundering case related to the alleged AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam case. .Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said that instead of furnishing a person bond and surety bond of ₹5 lakh each, Michel shall now furnish a personal bond of ₹5 lakh and a cash surety of ₹10 lakh. He has been ordered to submit his passport to the trial court and mark attendance with the ED every 15 days. "The applicant shall also furnish the details of his residential address where he intends to reside post-release. Before being released from the jail, the said address will be verified by the learned Trial Court through DoE. Additionally, he shall promptly inform both the learned Trial Court and the concerned I.O. in case of any change in such address. These conditions shall be strictly adhered to as a measure to ensure the applicant's continued presence during the course of trial," the Court said. .Michel was granted bail by the High Court in March 2025 but remained in custody due to non-compliance with the bail conditions. His lawyers have said that nobody in India will be willing to stand surety for him. A surety is a person who guarantees the accused will attend the court hearings after being granted bail..Michel is accused of having played the role of a middleman to enable helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland secure a contract from the then-Congress-led Indian government for the sale of helicopters for VVIP transport.He allegedly entered into as many as twelve contracts with AgustaWestland to legitimise illicit commissions or kickbacks amounting to €42.27 million received on the procurement of VVIP helicopters by the government of India. According to the CBI, bribes estimated at around US$33 million were transferred through bank accounts in the UK and UAE.Michel was extradited to India in December 2018 and then arrested by the ED. He has remained in jail since then without trial for six years. On March 4 this year, the Delhi High Court granted him bail in ED case.This was after the Supreme Court granted bail to on February 18 in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case in the same matter..Notably, while granting bail, the Delhi High Court had directed that the bail is conditional on (i) furnishing a personal bond and surety in the sum of ₹5,00,000 each, and (ii) on surrendering the passport before the trial court.Michel then moved the Court again seeking modification of these two bail conditions. His counsel, Advocate Aljo K Joseph, told the Court that it was difficult for Michel to comply with such conditions since he has no contacts in India."It is next to impossible to get an Indian surety. Nobody will furnish surety for him. This condition he cannot fulfil at all," he submitted.Joseph added that Michel's passport has expired and that he has applied for renewal. The process of passport renewal usually takes between 8 to 12 weeks, he pointed out."After getting bail, if he is not able to fulfil the conditions, why should he be in jail indefinitely? These two conditions may be modified so that he can come out on bail," Joseph submitted..Special Counsel for the ED, Zoheb Hossain, opposed the application, stating that the bail conditions are fair and reasonable..Advocates Aljo K Joseph, Sriram Parakkat, MS Vishnu Shankar and Sheikh Mohsin appeared for Christian Michel. .[Read Order]
The Delhi High Court on Thursday modified the bail conditions of British national Christian Michel, paving the way for his release from jail in the money laundering case related to the alleged AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam case. .Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said that instead of furnishing a person bond and surety bond of ₹5 lakh each, Michel shall now furnish a personal bond of ₹5 lakh and a cash surety of ₹10 lakh. He has been ordered to submit his passport to the trial court and mark attendance with the ED every 15 days. "The applicant shall also furnish the details of his residential address where he intends to reside post-release. Before being released from the jail, the said address will be verified by the learned Trial Court through DoE. Additionally, he shall promptly inform both the learned Trial Court and the concerned I.O. in case of any change in such address. These conditions shall be strictly adhered to as a measure to ensure the applicant's continued presence during the course of trial," the Court said. .Michel was granted bail by the High Court in March 2025 but remained in custody due to non-compliance with the bail conditions. His lawyers have said that nobody in India will be willing to stand surety for him. A surety is a person who guarantees the accused will attend the court hearings after being granted bail..Michel is accused of having played the role of a middleman to enable helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland secure a contract from the then-Congress-led Indian government for the sale of helicopters for VVIP transport.He allegedly entered into as many as twelve contracts with AgustaWestland to legitimise illicit commissions or kickbacks amounting to €42.27 million received on the procurement of VVIP helicopters by the government of India. According to the CBI, bribes estimated at around US$33 million were transferred through bank accounts in the UK and UAE.Michel was extradited to India in December 2018 and then arrested by the ED. He has remained in jail since then without trial for six years. On March 4 this year, the Delhi High Court granted him bail in ED case.This was after the Supreme Court granted bail to on February 18 in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case in the same matter..Notably, while granting bail, the Delhi High Court had directed that the bail is conditional on (i) furnishing a personal bond and surety in the sum of ₹5,00,000 each, and (ii) on surrendering the passport before the trial court.Michel then moved the Court again seeking modification of these two bail conditions. His counsel, Advocate Aljo K Joseph, told the Court that it was difficult for Michel to comply with such conditions since he has no contacts in India."It is next to impossible to get an Indian surety. Nobody will furnish surety for him. This condition he cannot fulfil at all," he submitted.Joseph added that Michel's passport has expired and that he has applied for renewal. The process of passport renewal usually takes between 8 to 12 weeks, he pointed out."After getting bail, if he is not able to fulfil the conditions, why should he be in jail indefinitely? These two conditions may be modified so that he can come out on bail," Joseph submitted..Special Counsel for the ED, Zoheb Hossain, opposed the application, stating that the bail conditions are fair and reasonable..Advocates Aljo K Joseph, Sriram Parakkat, MS Vishnu Shankar and Sheikh Mohsin appeared for Christian Michel. .[Read Order]
