Agusta Joba scam accuser Christian Michel files Supreme Court case

AgustaWestland: Christian Michel has filed a release petition with the Supreme Court

New Delhi:

Christian Michel, the main accused in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter case, has filed a petition with the Supreme Court demanding his immediate release from prison, citing his right to life and liberty.

Michel, a British citizen, said in the petition that he had been jailed for five years and three months and that the maximum penalty in the case was five years if convicted.

He said the investigation was not over and the trial had not even begun, making his further judicial detention “unlawful”.

The Supreme Court will hear the petition on Monday.

The middleman in the AgustaWestland helicopter scandal was extradited from Dubai in 2017 after being arrested in the UAE.

The Agusta case involved a contract signed by the government in 2007 to purchase 12 luxury helicopters for use by top leaders including the president, prime minister and former prime ministers.

The government canceled the contract in 2014 amid accusations that supplier AgustaWestland, whose parent company is Finmeccanica, had engaged in bribery in Italy and India.

Former air force chief SP Tyagi, 72, was arrested in 2016 on charges that he took bribes to customize specifications at the behest of his cousin. He became the first military chief (former or current) ever to be arrested.

The Congress party said it canceled the helicopter deal, blacklisted the company and asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the scam after rumors of kickbacks broke out in Italy. It also seized the company’s assets in India and abroad.