A Delhi court Wednesday directed Tihar Jail authorities to appear in person to explain how a “desperate accused person” was kept in isolation inside the prison with Christian Michel James, one of the alleged middlemen in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case, who was extradited from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2018.
James had earlier moved an application requesting adequate security measures in jail, alleging that his tea was being poisoned and that there were threats to his life. Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal of Rouse Avenue Court had asked the Tihar authorities to submit a detailed report regarding the application moved by the accused.
In the report on James’s fellow prisoner Shahnawaz, Tihar authorities stated that he had “41 punishments” against him for his conduct in jail after 2020 during his stay in multiple jails in Tihar. The punishments were under “disorderly behaviour” and “prohibited articles”, it said.
In the report submitted before the court, Tihar authorities also mentioned that Shahnawaz was in Tihar Jail cell number 1 from November 2018 to October 2019, during which no complaint was lodged against him. This was the period during which James alleged that there were attempts to “poison him”.
“Superintendent jail is directed to appear in person to explain how such a desperate accused person (Shahnawaz) was kept together with James,” said Judge Aggarwal.
“Your honour… I’ve not been given a table fan for two months,” James, represented by advocate Aljo K Joseph, told the judge.
“Court had already allowed this. He’s still an undertrial. The superintendent must provide this fan,” said Judge Aggarwal.
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“He’s from abroad…it’s 42 degrees in Delhi,” the judge added.
James, who has been accused of paying large sums of bribes to Indian Air Force officers, defence ministry officials, bureaucrats and politicians via United Kingdom-based AgustaWestland International, told the court, “The superintendent is a very good chap, I must say.”
“You’ll have to say so right?” asked the judge, eliciting a chuckle from James.
In a conversation with The Indian Express outside the courtroom, James said, “It is unfortunately true that inmates cut deals and some people get special treatment inside Tihar.”
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On being asked how his over six-year stint in jail has been, James said, “I have absolutely no feeling of wasted time in all these years I spent in jail.”
“The jail is terrible, it is dangerous but it has been a very good experience for me,” he said. “I don’t know exactly how many times, but there have been attempts to poison me… The person who tried was surprised that I survived,” he added.
After he was granted bail in both the money laundering case, being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the corruption case being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), linked to the AgustaWestland case, James refused to come out of prison. “Delhi, for me, is a larger prison,” he told the court in March.
CBI probe in AgustaWestland case
As per the CBI probe in the chopper case, a contract for the supply of 12 VVIP/non-VVIP helicopters was awarded to AgustaWestland for Rs 3,726.96 crore, and an agreement to this effect was executed on February 8, 2010, between the defence ministry and the UK firm. The agency alleged that former Chief of Air Staff S P Tyagi, between 2005 and 2007, approved reducing the altitude ceiling for VVIP helicopters from 6,000 to 4,500 metres. This allowed AgustaWestland to enter the fray after being disqualified in 2002, as per the CBI probe.
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The Central agency also alleged that undue favour was given to AgustaWestland for awarding the contract of procurement of VVIP helicopters in its favour by accepting illegal gratification from it through middlemen.