Court Seeks Prison Conduct Report for AgustaWestland Accused

Rouse Avenue Court has instructed the Director General of Prisons to provide a report on Christian Michel James's behavior during his six-year stay in Tihar Jail. This follows a request by James's legal team for a remission based on good conduct, as permitted by prison regulations.

The Rouse Avenue Court has mandated the Director General of Prisons to deliver a detailed report on the conduct of Christian Michel James throughout his six-year incarceration in Tihar Jail. This requirement emerges after appeals by James's lawyers, who are advocating for sentencing concessions due to his reported exemplary conduct.

Special CBI Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal has issued instructions for the submission of a cohesive conduct report and has notified the Enforcement Directorate (ED) about the upcoming hearing slated for March 18. This development is a critical aspect of James's legal proceedings, particularly concerning the AgustaWestland chopper deal case.

Originally extradited from Dubai in 2018, James faces allegations tied to both CBI and money laundering activities. His legal representatives assert that current regulations obligate the prison to present such reports upon an inmate reaching one-third of their total sentence duration, which they claim should be capped at seven years for James.

However, the court has expressed skepticism over this claim, primarily because the CBI has imposed additional charges under Section 467 of the Indian Penal Code, leading the court to question the assertion of a maximum seven-year sentence.

In defense, James's attorneys argue that the Extradition Treaty limits trial to charges specified in the original request, explicitly excluding Section 467. Hence, according to them, the maximum applicable sentence under Section 420 remains seven years.

An application has been filed for James to gain access to his conduct records from Tihar Jail, emphasizing rules that permit a one-month reduction per annum of good behavior. James, extradited on December 4, 2018, had initially spent two months detained in Dubai. (ANI)