The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea by Christian Michel, the British national and alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam, challenging a bail condition imposed by the Delhi High Court in the money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sanjay Kumar refused to interfere with the High Court’s March 2025 order, which required Michel to disclose the address where he intended to stay after his release.
When Michel’s counsel argued that the accused had no local address and could not provide one while still in custody, the bench shot back, “You have a permanent address inside Tihar jail, stay there only. Finished. What to do? You have been granted bail. You don’t even want to fulfill a condition of providing a local address.”
The court also declined to entertain the contention that the High Court lacked jurisdiction to direct the British High Commission, a foreign entity, to submit Michel’s renewed passport directly to the trial court.
In its March order, the High Court had permitted Michel’s release without immediate submission of a valid passport, given that his earlier one had expired. However, it directed that the new passport, once issued, be deposited by the British High Commission with the trial court.
It further directed verification of the residence address that Michel would provide before releasing him from custody.
Michel, who was extradited from Dubai to India in 2018 after a protracted legal battle, is accused of routing illegal kickbacks in the ₹3,600-crore VVIP helicopter deal involving the purchase of 12 choppers from AgustaWestland.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged that the deal, signed in 2010, caused a loss of €398.21 million (approximately ₹2,666 crore) to the exchequer. The ED, which filed a chargesheet in 2016, claimed Michel received €30 million (about ₹225 crore) as commission in the deal.
Michel, arrested in December 2018 after being brought to India, continues to be in judicial custody. His plea to modify bail conditions now stands dismissed.