- By Talib Khan
- Tue, 07 Apr 2020 11:52 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the interim bail plea of Christian Michel James, the alleged middlemen arrested in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam cases by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED). The plea was filed seeking a grant of interim bail to Christian Michel James on the ground of his health and age along with the risk of contracting coronavirus in Tihar Jail.
Justice Mukta Gupta, who conducted the hearing through video conferencing, said the apprehension of Michel that because of his vulnerable age and overcrowding in jail he is likely to contact COVID-19 which may be detrimental to his health, is unfounded.
Dismissing the bail, Justice Mukta Gupta conducted the hearing in the matter through video conferencing and said that the ‘apprehension made by Christian Michel James that because of his vulnerable age and overcrowding in jail he is likely to contact COVID-19 which may be detrimental to his health, is unfounded’.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) also opposed the interim bail plea of Michel James.
The 59-year-old Michel claimed that his health condition was critical and incompatible with the current prison status, especially to cope with the risk of contracting COVID-19 infection which could have a lethal effect on him as he is already suffering from serious pathologies.
Michel, extradited from Dubai, was arrested by the ED on December 22, 2018. On January 5 last year, he was sent to judicial custody in the ED case. He is also in judicial custody in another case registered by the CBI in connection with the scam.
Michel is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case by the ED and the CBI. The other two are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.
(With PTI Inputs)
