AgustaWestland scam: Supreme Court rejects bail plea of Christian Michel

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the bail plea of British national and accused in the AgustaWestland chopper scam, Christian Michel. [Christian Michel vs Central Bureau of Investigation]. .A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala reasoned that Section 436A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which provides for release when half the sentence is served, would not be applicable in the instant case."The provisions of Section 436A would not be applicable in this case. We find no merit in the Special Leave Petition," the Court said in its order. The Court, however, clarified that their order would not come in the way of Michel approaching the trial court for regular bail. .Background.The top court was hearing a bail plea filed by Michel in the cases registered against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the 2013 helicopter bribery scam.Michel's bail plea had earlier been dismissed by the Delhi High Court after the court deemed him to be a flight-risk, leading to the present appeal before the apex court.Michel is accused of creating a paper trail to route kickbacks in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, a 2013 helicopter bribery scam in which money was allegedly paid to middlemen and Indian officials in 2006 and 2007 to purchase choppers for politicians.The CBI had estimated the amount of bribes at US$33 million, transferred through bank accounts in the UK and UAE.The Supreme Court had in May last year year issued notice to the CBI and ED in the matter..In December, the apex court had asked the Central government agencies whether the British national can be kept in jail indefinitely without bail merely because he is a foreign national. The bench had noted the possibility of the trial being a lengthy one.During that hearing, Michel's counsel had submitted that his case is covered under Section 436A (maximum period for which an under trial prisoner can be detained) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Further, the probe has been going on for over nine years. .Arguments today.Advocate Aljo Joseph, on behalf of Michel, pointed out that all the co-accused who were extradited in connection with the same offence, had since gotten bail while Michel has served 50 per cent of his sentence. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain, appearing for the central agencies, submitted that the allegations involve money laundering, collusion, illegal gratification, among others.He argued that the petitioner is facing charges under Section 467 of the IPC which are punishable with life imprisonment.In light of the same, the ASG submitted that there is no reason or occasion for pressing for bail under Section 436A. The bench then flagged the fact that the accused had been denied regular bail, and the probe as well as detention was still ongoing with no chargsheet having been filed. "It cannot be open ended from your side. You must say a time (to complete probe)," Justice Narasimha said.The ASG replied saying that custody would be necessary till the letters-rogatory are answered.On the CJI's question as to how Michel can claim that he is not a flight risk, Joseph argued that the agencies had thrice visited visited the accused in Dubai, where Michel had cooperated. "When confessional statement was not given, they extradited me as a quid pro quo," he said.Further, it was pointed out that as per the extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), British nationals cannot be tried for offences apart from what he was extradited for.The Court in its order said it was not able to accept the contentions of the petitioner.Advocates Aljo Joseph, Sriram Parakkat and MS Vishnu Shankar appeared for Michel. ASG Jain was assisted by advocates Arkaj Kumar and Ashima Gupta. .[Read order]