New Delhi, 08 April (H.S.):
The Delhi High Court dismissed a petition by Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam, challenging the India-UAE extradition treaty. A bench led by Justice Navin Chawla ruled the plea had no merit.
This marked Michel's second attempt to contest the treaty; an earlier petition was rejected on November 17, 2025. He argued that the treaty violated Section 21 of India's Extradition Act, which bars trials for unlisted offenses in extradition orders, claiming new charges under IPC Section 467 breached UAE authorities' assurances.
Michel's counsel contended that he had served the maximum sentence for extradition-specified offenses, rendering further detention unconstitutional under Articles 21, 245, and 253. However, Rouse Avenue Court rejected his release plea on October 13, 2025, noting IPC 467 carries life imprisonment.
The Enforcement Directorate opposed, citing Article 17 of the 1999 treaty, which allows trials for connected offenses. Michel, extradited from Dubai on December 4, 2018, received bail in ED's money laundering case on March 4, 2025, from Delhi High Court and earlier in CBI's case from the Supreme Court.
The ₹3,600 crore scam involves 12 helicopter purchases from AgustaWestland. A CBI supplementary chargesheet filed September 19, 2020, named Michel, Rajiv Saxena, AgustaWestland director G Saponaro, and former Air Force chief SP Tyagi's relative Sandeep Tyagi among 13 accused; court took cognizance on October 23, 2020.
---------------
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
