Special Court Refuses Bail To Christian Michel in Augusta Westland Case [Read Order]

Special Judge Arvind Kumar has rejected the bail application of Christian Michel in cases filed against him by CBI and ED in Augusta Westland scam case.

The demand for bail was rejected on the ground that there exist no sufficient reasons to grant the same to Michel. Michel is among the three other middlemen who are being investigated by the CBI for involvement in the VVIP Chopper Scam. He's accused of taking money from the helicopter company to further bribe the officers of Indian Air Force, bureaucrats and politicians in India, to get the deal in favour of the said helicopter company.

Last December, Michel was extradited from Dubai and was subsequently arrested by ED under section 3 and 5 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act and on January 5th he was sent to judicial custody.

Michel's counsel argued that he has already undergone 600 hours of interrogation and 375 days of custody. The investigation is still going on despite the lapse of 5 years and that the same pertaining to him is already over. Moreover, all the evidence produced against Michel are documentary and in the custody of ED. Therefore, his further incarceration serves no purpose. It also pointed out that the European arrest warrant against him in a proceeding before an Italian court has already been withdrawn.

Michel's counsel further argued that punishment laid down under sections 3 and 5 do not exceed 7 years. Hence, as per law laid down in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar should be relied upon and this offence should not be considered as a serious offence.

ED's counsel, on the other hand, submitted the facts regarding the involvement of Michel in the present case. It was also pointed out that Michel was a constant visitor to India. However, after his name became public in 2013, he never came back to the country.

The Special Judge rejected Michel's contention about the Italian court proceedings by noting that the subject matter of the proceedings, which dealt with international tax fraud, was different from the present case which is filed under PMLA and Prevention of Corruption Act, and Michel was not even a prime accused in that case.

Moreover, his argument about the seriousness of the offences he's charged with is also denied by the court after relying upon YS Jaganmohan Reddy v. CBI which said that in terms of bail, economic offences need to be seen as serious offences.

The Special Judge finally rejected the bail application by citing the following reasons:

1. Michel did not cooperate with the investigation agency

2. He's highly likely to influence the witnesses or tamper with the evidence

3. He also did not join proceedings in Italy

Click here to download the Order