New Delhi, Nov 24: The Delhi High Court on Monday sought replies from the Centre, CBI and ED on a petition filed by alleged middleman Christian Michel James, an accused in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case, who has challenged a clause in the India-UAE extradition treaty under which he was brought to India.
A bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Manoj Jain issued notices to the home ministry, external affairs ministry, the CBI and the ED, asking them to submit their objections on the maintainability of Michel’s plea. The matter has been listed for its next hearing on April 9, 2026.
Michel has contested Article 17 of the 1999 extradition treaty, which allows a requesting country to prosecute an extradited individual for the offence that prompted the extradition as well as for connected offences. His counsel argued that prosecution must remain restricted to the specific offences approved during the extradition process. Michel was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 and was taken into custody by both agencies soon after his arrival.
He has also challenged a trial court order dated August 7 that rejected his plea under Section 436A of the CrPC seeking release from jail. His lawyer said Michel will complete seven years in custody on December 4, 2025, and has not been granted bail even once since his extradition. The defence noted that the investigation has continued for 13 years and remains unfinished, while Michel has already spent the maximum possible sentence for the offences tied to his extradition.
Michel is one of three alleged intermediaries being investigated in the case, alongside Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.
The CBI chargesheet states that the helicopter deal signed on February 8, 2010, caused a loss of 398.21 million euros (around Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer. The ED, in its chargesheet filed in 2016, alleged that Michel received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.
