Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to UK-based arms consultant Christian James Michel in a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) related to the AgustaWestland chopper scam case.
The Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta granted bail to Michel on the grounds that he had remained in custody for more than six years. Despite filing three charge sheets and two supplementary charge sheets, the respondent (CBI) stated in the counter-affidavit that the investigation was still going on, it observed.
The petitioner was granted bail on the condition that he should renew his passport and subsequently surrender it.
The Apex Court directed the CBI to request the trial court to impose bail conditions before releasing Michel.
The top court of the country passed the order on a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Michel challenging the September 25, 2024 order of the Delhi High Court denying him bail.
Appearing for Michel, Advocate Aljo K Joseph submitted that the investigation was yet not complete. The Counsel alleged that CBI was blaming Michel for delaying the trial, when the national agency was itself waiting for the documents to come from different countries.
The Counsel representing CBI sought time till Friday to take instructions on further investigation.
The Apex Court, while reprimanding the national agency for not completing the trial in the past six years, clarified that it was ordering the release of Michel on bail and the CBI could continue his further investigation.
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