SC refers Christian Michel’s plea for release to another bench

The Supreme Court on Friday referred to another bench a plea of alleged middleman Christian Michel James in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam case, seeking his release from jail.

The Delhi High Court had on April 8 dismissed the petition of the British national in the case, saying there was no merit in the plea of James who was extradited from Dubai in December 2018.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi took note of the fact that the earlier pleas of the accused were heard by another bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath.

“Let this matter be referred to a bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath,” the CJI said.

In his petition, James assailed a provision of the India-UAE extradition treaty. He also challenged a trial court order of August 7, 2025, by which his application under Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for his release from jail was rejected.

James challenged Article 17 of the treaty, signed in 1999, which allows the requesting state (in this case India) to prosecute extradited persons not only for the specific offence for which extradition was done, but also for connected offences.

It was argued before the High Court that an extradited person can be prosecuted only for the offences for which extradition took place, and not for connected offences.

James, in its petition, also submitted that he completed seven years in jail on December 4, 2025, and has, therefore, already undergone the maximum sentence possible for the offences for which he was extradited, rendering his continued detention in India illegal.

The high court, in his order, stated that it was not permissible for James to re-agitate issues pertaining to the treaty which, at least on a prima facie basis, have already been considered by the Supreme Court.

It nonetheless considered provisions of the treaty and ruled that James was extradited for facing trial for offences which directly arises from the factual background in the present case, and therefore, his prosecution fell within the scope of the treaty.

After his extradition, James was arrested by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). James is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case, and the other two are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.

He was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the CBI case in February 2025. The high court granted him bail in the ED case in March that year.

James, however, continues to be in jail as he was unable to fulfil the bail conditions.

A trial court directed James to furnish a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh and a cash surety of the same amount to secure his release in the CBI case. In the ED case, the high court asked him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh and a cash surety of Rs 10 lakh.

The high court also clarified that James could be released without depositing the passport, which has expired immediately.

The authorities concerned were asked to deposit the fresh passport, whenever ready, with the trial court directly, it added.

The high court also asked the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) to ensure that James does not leave the country.

The CBI, in its charge sheet, has alleged an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer due to the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010, for the supply of VVIP choppers worth 556.26 million euros.

The ED, in its charge sheet filed against James in June 2016, alleged that he had received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.