The investigative side The AgustaWestland chopper scam case is a decade-long saga. At various stages, people like Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Ahmed Patel, Pranab Mukherjee, M. Veerappa Moily, Oscar Fernandes, M. K. Narayanan, and former IAF Chief SP Tyagi were under the radar. The common link between them and this Anglo-Italian company is middleman Christen Michel. His bail bid was recently thwarted by the Apex Court.
Charges against Christian Mitchel
When Christian Michel was extradited to India in 2018, the man wanted to ensure that he got lenient treatment from Indian authorities. Therefore, if you read his extradition decree, you will find that the man wanted to be charged only under Sections 415 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PCA).
Section 415 of the IPC defines “cheating.” It basically says that if the consent for delivering any belongings was obtained through deceptions and lies, then it is cheating. Its punishment has been prescribed under Section 417 of the IPC. One year and a fine is the maximum punishment that one can get.
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Section 420 adds one more parameter of fraud. In addition to cheating, dishonestly inducing the delivery of property has also been declared a crime. If one induces someone to make, alter, or destroy the whole or any part of a valuable security, or anything that is signed or sealed and is capable of being converted into a valuable security, then the maximum punishment is seven years with a fine.
Section 8 of PCA, the third charge against Christian Michel, prescribes a minimum of six months and a maximum of five years of punishment for taking money to influence public servants. Christian Michel’s note to an AgustaWestland employee specified the amounts payable to the aforementioned dignitaries.
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436A, CrPC conundrum
Michel was extradited to India on December 4, 2018. To date, he has not been convicted. It simply means that the man has been in detention for more than 4 years. This 4 years is more than half of the maximum sentence of 5 years prescribed under Section 8 of PCA.
There is a specific provision in Criminal Procedure for situations like this. Section 436A of the CrPC makes him eligible for bail. Michel approached the Apex Court for bail. The court was informed that he has also been charged under Section 467 of the IPC, under which the punishment is 10 years.
Michel’s legal team then cited Daya Singh Lahoria v. UOI and argued that an extradited person can’t be charged for sections other than those mentioned in his or her extradition decree.
No relief from the Court
Then it all came down to the exception provision of 436A of the CrPC. The said section clearly provides that if a judge wants, he or she can order the continuation of the detention of the accused. However, the extension of the detention order has to be written down.
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When the court approached the AgustaWestland chopper scam case from this angle, it had to find out why Michel’s detention was being opposed. Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, appearing for the CBI and ED, said that there is a risk of him leaving the country. The Chief Justice of India, DY. Chandrachud, then questioned why he should be denied regular bail. To this, the ASG responded with the results of its investigation. The Court then went on to decline his bail, but left it open for him to approach trial Court for the bail.
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