Delhi High Court dismissed Christian Michel’s plea seeking release in the AgustaWestland case, holding that his extradition treaty violation claims lacked merit. (File Photo)A division bench of the Delhi High Court Wednesday dismissed a plea by AgustaWestland VVIP chopper accused Christian Michel James, seeking release from jail on grounds of violation of the extradition treaty.Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Chawla, pronouncing the verdict in open court, said the petition stands dismissed as the court did not find any merit in his plea. A detailed order is awaited.James, an alleged middleman, is accused of allegedly bribing Indian military and civilian officials and politicians to swing a Rs 3,600-crore deal to buy 12 VVIP helicopters for the government in favour of AgustaWestland.In November 2025, James, in his petition before the HC, had challenged a trial court order refusing to release him despite obtaining bail. The court had taken into account that the benefit of release of an undertrial upon completion of the maximum possible sentence cannot be granted as Michel is alleged to have committed an offence under IPC Section 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), punishable with life imprisonment.James was extradited from the UAE in December 2018 under a treaty between UAE and India for alleged offences under IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 415 and 420 (cheating), where the maximum sentence prescribed is up to seven years in jail.He had argued in his petition that Article 17 of the treaty prohibits trial for offences for which the extradition has not taken place.James also argued that as per the treaty’s conditions, he cannot be tried for the offence under IPC Section 467 or the PMLA, since these offences were not cited when he was extradited.Story continues below this adHe had pointed out he had already completed 7 years of imprisonment as an undertrial as of December 4, 2025 — the maximum punishment entailed for the offences under which he was extradited.Also Read | Supreme Court on AgustaWestland chopper deal: Show new evidence against firm whose business suspension was revoked by HCIn its January 8 affidavit, the CBI submitted that Article 17 of the extradition treaty “grants powers to try (James) for connected offences and all offences for which extradition is sought”, and added that “applicability of the offences are to be seen at the stage of arguments on charge”, while the trial is at the stage of scrutiny of documents.The ED, in its January 8 affidavit, also took a similar stance, contending “there is no violation” of the treaty’s provisions, while seeking dismissal of James’ plea, adding that “there is no bar in trying (James) for the offences alleged in the present case”.Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More © The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:AgustaWestland case