The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (April 8, 2026) dismissed a petition by alleged middleman Christian Michel James in the ₹3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam seeking his release from jail.
A Bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja said there was “no merit in the present petition” filed by the British national, who was extradited from Dubai in December 2018.
Mr. James had moved the High Court against a trial court order of August 7, 2025, by which his application under Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for his release from jail was rejected. His plea also challenged a provision of the India-UAE extradition treaty.
He challenged Article 17 of the treaty, which allows the requesting state, in this case India, to prosecute extradited persons not only for the specific offence for which extradition was done, but also for connected offences.
After his extradition, Mr. James was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
