The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea filed by British national Christian Michel James, one of the accused in the ₹3,600-crore AgustaWestland money laundering case, challenging a Delhi High Court order that modified his bail conditions and required him to furnish a local address prior to release.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sanjay Kumar refused to entertain the plea, observing that James, who has been in Tihar Jail since his extradition from Dubai in 2018, had no valid reason for failing to provide a local residential address, which is a precondition for his release on bail.
“We granted you bail and you don’t even want to fulfil a condition of providing a local address,” the bench remarked while hearing submissions from James’ counsel. When told that James, being a foreign national, did not have a local residence, the court retorted, “You have a permanent address inside the Tihar jail. You stay there only. What to do.”
The bench further questioned the inconsistency in James’ stance, noting that if his family could coordinate legal instructions from abroad, they could also help in arranging a local address. “This is all an excuse,” the court said, rejecting the plea.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court had modified James’ bail terms, noting his prolonged incarceration and status as a foreign national. It allowed James to furnish a personal bond of ₹5 lakh and a cash surety of ₹10 lakh, in place of a personal and surety bond of ₹5 lakh each. The court also relaxed the condition of immediate passport submission, directing instead that any fresh passport issued to James be handed directly to the trial court.
Despite these relaxations, the high court mandated that James provide a verifiable address where he intended to reside post-release, a requirement now upheld by the apex court.
James, accused of being a middleman in the controversial helicopter deal, is under investigation by both the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The case involves alleged irregularities in the 2010 purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from Italian firm AgustaWestland. The CBI has pegged the loss to the exchequer at around ₹2,666 crore, while the ED has alleged that James received around €30 million (₹225 crore) in kickbacks.
Alongside James, Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa are also accused of facilitating the bribe payments in the deal. James was extradited from the UAE in December 2018 and has since remained in custody pending proceedings in both the CBI and ED cases.
With the Supreme Court’s dismissal, James must now comply with the high court’s directions if he wishes to be released on bail.
