Michel visited the CBI headquarters on seven days – from December 2 to 6 and then on December 9 and 10. ET had reported on October 11 that he had visited the CBI headquarters on September 30, October 1 and 3 to inspect the documents, which the investigative agency had not relied upon. The inspection was permitted by a Delhi court.
People in the know told ET that Michel has also moved an application in the court seeking supply of relevant documents to him.
Among other documents, Michel has demanded a copy of the Indian government’s request to the UAE authorities for his extradition, said people in the know. He was extradited from the UAE in December 2018, as first reported by ET.
Michel has been in Tihar jail for about six years. The Supreme Court last month directed CBI to respond within four weeks to a bail plea filed by Michel. The case pertains to a deal signed in 2010 to purchase 12 helicopters from British manufacturer AgustaWestland. The contract was cancelled following allegations of corruption in its award.
Michel was denied bail by the Delhi high court in September 2023.Turning down his bail plea in September last year, justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma of the Delhi High Court had held that there was no significant change in the circumstances from the time when the accused’s earlier bail pleas were rejected.His bail plea had previously been dismissed by the trial court, which highlighted the severity of the charges and his potential flight risk.
CBI, in September 2020, filed a supplementary charge sheet against Michael, another alleged middleman Rajiv Saxena and 13 others. It alleged he had “conduits and contacts in the Ministry of Defence and Indian Air Force” and had access to confidential information pertaining to the deal.
The charge sheet had alleged that he shared classified information pertaining to the tender with top executives of AgustaWestland eight months before changes to the deal terms were finalised by government officials.
