A Delhi court on Thursday dismissed an application filed by Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland chopper scam, seeking documents related to his extradition from Dubai in 2018.
Special Judge Arvind Kumar denied the relief, saying the documents were not relied upon by the prosecution.
James, a United Kingdom national, had sought all the documents and correspondence with the competent authority in Dubai in relation to his extradition.
He had claimed he was entitled to all the documents collected by the CBI during investigation, insisting they were relevant for his defence.
While dismissing his application, the court took note of the CBI’s submission that the extradition treaty between the UAE and India and the guidelines of the MHA provide for sending a request through the Ministry of External Affairs and do not envisage the participation of an accused in such proceedings in the country to which the request has been made.
The agency had submitted that it is the laws of the requested state which are invoked when a request is made to a country which in the present case is the UAE.
“The documents relating to extradition of accused Christian Michel James have not been relied upon by the prosecution and thus cannot be supplied to the accused,” Special Judge Arvind Kumar said.
The judge noted that the copies of the charge sheet and the subsequent charge sheets, filed in September 2017, September 2020 and March 2021 respectively, along with the lists of unrelied documents and unrelied witnesses were already supplied to the accused.
The case is currently at pre-charge stage.
The CBI had opposed the application, claiming the accused was already provided with all the documents required under the rules, and that the supply of documents related to his extradition was against the settled position of law.
The Rs 3,600-crore alleged scam relates to the kickbacks in purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland.
The CBI, in its charge sheet, has alleged an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer due to the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010 for the supply of 12 VVIP helicopters worth 556.262 million euros (around Rs 3,600 crore).
James is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case. The other two are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.
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