NEW DELHI: Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court has dismissed a recent plea filed by British Citizen Christian Michel, an accused and alleged middleman in the VVIP helicopter scam case, seeking release from custody on the ground that he has undergone the maximum period of detention in the case.Michel’s plea moved in December last year, contended that he has been in custody for more than five years after his extradition from UAE in 2018.”The applicant was extradited from Dubai on 4th December 2018 and was in custody which is more than 5 years. It is pertinent to mention here that the applicant was in custody during the extradition proceedings in Dubai. The 5 year undergone is the actual period in addition to the pre-extradition incarceration and remession had to be calculated to commute the actual period undergone by the accused,” the plea moved through Adv Aljo K Joseph said.Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal held that the accused is alleged to have committed offences under Section 467 IPC, which is punishable upto life imprisonment.”The Hon’ble Supreme Court has held that the plea of the accused that he was entitled to bail u/S. 438 CrPC cannot be accepted, as besides the provisions of Sections 415 and 420 read with Section 120B IPC and Section 8 of the PC Act, the accused is alleged to have committed offences under Section 467 IPC, which is punishable upto life imprisonment,” the order read.The court further said, “By the same very reasoning, since Section 467 IPC has been invoked by the prosecuting agency by way of supplementary charge sheet, this plea that the accused has already undergone the maximum period of detention u/S. 415, 420 IPC as well as u/S. 8 of the PC Act is not tenable, as the prosecuting agency has also invoked Section 467 IPC, which entails punishment upto life.”It was said in the order that the accused could only be released on bail as per Chapter XXXIII of CrPC but the applicant seeks release from custody.”He has failed to point out any provision of law under which the said application has been moved. Even otherwise this court being a trial court is not a constitutional court clothed with powers of writ jurisdiction, therefore, relief of release sought by way of present application is even otherwise misconceived for this reason also,” the order stated further.The CBI had alleged that there was an estimated loss of Euro 398.21 million (about Rs 2666 Crore) to the exchequer in the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010, for the supply of VVIP choppers worth Euro 556.262 million.ED had also filed a chargesheet against Michel in June 2016, alleging that he had received EUR 30 million (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.
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