The Delhi High Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea filed by alleged middleman Christian Michel James, an accused in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam, challenging a provision of the 1999 India-UAE Extradition Treaty. The court permitted him to withdraw the petition with liberty to file a fresh one.
Michel had questioned Article 17, which permits the requesting state—in this case, India—to prosecute an extradited individual not only for the specific offence for which extradition was granted but also for connected offences.
His counsel argued that an extradited person can be tried strictly for the offences forming the basis of extradition, and that the treaty clause violates constitutional protections.
A bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Manoj Jain said the plea, in its current form, was not maintainable as it merely sought a declaration without any consequential relief.
The court observed:
- “No consequential relief is sought. Why should we simply declare? File a better petition.”
- “Declaration can only be given when there is a cause of action. We cannot just declare. Where is the cause of action?”
The bench noted that the treaty is not a law passed by Parliament, and therefore cannot be declared ultra vires by the court.
“It is like a proposed bill and you are asking us to declare it ultra vires which cannot be done. A law can be declared ultra vires but not a proposed bill,” the judges said.
Following this, Michel’s lawyer withdrew the petition and sought liberty to file a fresh plea with specific prayers, which the court granted.
Michel was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 under the India-UAE treaty. Upon arrival, he was arrested by both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
He is one of three alleged middlemen in the AgustaWestland deal, along with Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.
The CBI’s charge sheet alleges a loss of 398.21 million euros (around Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer due to the February 8, 2010 contract for VVIP helicopters valued at 556.262 million euros.
The ED, in its June 2016 complaint, claims Michel received 30 million euros (around Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.
