Delhi HC reserves order on Christian Michel’s bail plea

The alleged middleman has been arrested in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam

A file photo of Christian Michel

The Delhi High Court on Monday reserved its order on the interim bail plea of Christian Michel James, alleged middleman arrested in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam.

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Justice Mukta Gupta, who conducted the proceedings through videoconferencing, reserved the order after hearing the arguments on behalf of counsel for Mr. James and the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which opposed the plea.

Mr. James, who is lodged in Tihar Jail, claimed that his health condition was critical and incompatible with the current prison status, especially to cope with the risk of contracting the COVID-19 infection which could have a lethal effect on him as he is already suffering from serious pathologies.

Last week, the Supreme Court had asked Mr. James to first approach the High Court with his plea.

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In his plea, he also referred to the Supreme Court’s March 16 order directing all States and union territories to constitute high-level committees to consider releasing on parole or interim bail prisoners and undertrials, for offences entailing up to 7-year jail term, to decongest jails in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr. James, extradited from Dubai, was arrested by the ED on December 22, 2018. He is also facing another case registered by the CBI in connection with the scam.