SC grants bail to Christian Michel

 New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to alleged middleman Christian Michel James in the purported Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland case being probed by the CBI. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta observed James was in custody for the past six years while the investigation in the matter was still underway.

James, however, cannot walk out of jail as he faces a related money laundering case and his bail plea is pending in the Delhi High Court. "Petitioner was extradited in 2018 and has been in custody for more than 6 years now. According to the CBI despite filing two chargesheets and a supplementary chargesheet, the investigation is still ongoing. We are inclined to grant bail on such terms and conditions as determined by the trial court. The CBI will make appropriate request to the trial court for imposing necessary conditions ," said the bench.