New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (May 7) reserved its verdict on a plea of an alleged middleman Christian Michel James seeking modification of his bail conditions in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland money laundering case.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma reserved the verdict after hearing submissions made by James and Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Justice Sharma, while reserving the verdict, said she would pass a detailed order.
James appeared before court from Tihar Jail virtually
James, who appeared before the High Court virtually from Tihar Jail, confirmed filing the plea through his counsel. The court earlier asked him whether he had filed the plea seeking modification of bail conditions.
James, who was granted bail by the High Court in the money laundering case in March this year, has sought relaxing the bail conditions – furnishing a surety of Rs 5 lakh and surrendering his passport.
What has James submitted?
The counsel representing James, seeking modifications of two bail conditions, has told the High Court that he cannot fulfil the bail condition on surety as he does not have friends or family in India and he cannot fulfil this condition, as nobody will furnish surety for him. The counsel further submitted that his passport has expired and he has applied for the same and the process to get the new one will take at least 4-8 weeks and he couldn’t be made to languish in jail even after securing bail till his passport got renewed.
ED has opposed James’s plea
The ED has opposed James’s plea seeking modifications of bail conditions, saying both bail conditions imposed by the court were just, fair and reasonable. It has submitted that he is a foreign national and has no roots in India and can easily flee the country. It further said that there was no way to ensure his presence in India if he furnished no local surety and it would be difficult to secure his presence in future if the condition was waived off.
High Court granted bail to James in ED case on March 4
The High Court granted bail to James in the money laundering case on March 4 on conditions, including furnishing a personal bond and surety in the sum of Rs 5 lakh each and on surrendering his passport before the trial court. It had made it clear that his passport would not be released without the permission of the court as investigation against him was still pending.
Supreme Court earlier granted James bail in CBI case
The Supreme Court earlier granted James bail in a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), noting that he was in custody in the case registered by the CBI for the last six years and the investigation into the matter is still underway.
James, a British national, was extradited from Dubai in 2018
James, a British national, was extradited from Dubai in December, 2018 and was subsequently arrested in the alleged Rs 3,600-crore scam involving the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from chopper design and manufacturing company AgustaWestland.
