New Delhi, April 8 The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition by alleged middleman Christian Michel James in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter scam case, seeking his release from jail.
A bench of justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja said there was no merit in the petition by the British national, who was extradited from Dubai in December 2018.
In his petition, James challenged a provision of the India-UAE extradition treaty. He also challenged a trial court order of August 7, 2025, by which his application under Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for his release from jail was rejected.
James challenged Article 17 of the treaty, signed in 1999, which allows the requesting state (in this case, India) to prosecute extradited persons not only for the specific offence for which extradition was done, but also for connected offences.
It was contended that an extradited person can be prosecuted only for the offences for which extradition took place, and not for connected offences.
James also submitted in his petition that he had completed seven years in jail on December 4, 2025, and therefore, he had already undergone the maximum sentence possible for the offences for which he was extradited, rendering his continued detention in India illegal.
In its 19-page verdict, the bench stated that it was not permissible for James to re-raise issues pertaining to the treaty, which, at least on a prima facie basis, have already been considered by the Supreme Court.
It nonetheless considered provisions of the treaty and ruled that James was extradited for facing trial for offences which directly arise from the factual background in the present case, and therefore, his prosecution fell within the scope of the treaty.
After his extradition, James was arrested by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
James is among the three alleged middlemen being investigated in the case, and the other two are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.
He was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the CBI case in February 2025. The high court granted him bail in the ED case in March that year.
However, James continues to be in jail as he was unable to fulfill the bail conditions.
A trial court directed James to furnish a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh and a cash surety of the same amount to secure his release in the CBI case. In the ED case, the high court asked him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh and a cash surety of Rs 10 lakh.
The high court also clarified that James could be released without depositing the passport, which has expired immediately.
The concerned authorities were asked to deposit the fresh passport, whenever ready, directly with the trial court, it added.
The high court also asked the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) to ensure that James does not leave the country.
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 VVIP helicopters worth 556.26 million euros.
The ED, in its charge sheet filed against James in June 2016, alleged that he had received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.