TOI correspondent from London: The family of British national Christian Michel, the alleged middleman imprisoned in Delhi’s Tihar Jail for more than seven years in the AgustaWestland helicopter scam case, has intensified efforts to secure his freedom, with his son Alois Michel calling on India to “follow its extradition laws” and release his father.
He also compared his father’s case with that of Nirav Modi, the fugitive diamond trader accused of defrauding PNB to the tune of Rs 13,000 crore before fleeing to the UK.Speaking to TOI over phone from Madrid, Alois (28) said that the Indian government, in order to secure Modi’s extradition from the UK, had promised not to question him or face additional charges in India. He added that in his father’s case, they were doing the opposite.Michel was extradited from the United Arab Emirates in December 2018, and remained behind bars longer than the maximum sentence that could be imposed under Indian laws for the crime of bribing officials to secure a helicopter supply contract for AgustaWestland in 2010. However, Indian authorities brought an additional charge of forgery of valuable securities, which carries a penalty of up to life imprisonment.Michel, 64, is contesting this, claiming it is a violation of Section 21 of India’s Extradition Act, which states that additional charges cannot be filed beyond those for which a person is being extradited.
His petition challenging the move was rejected by the Delhi High Court in April, ruling that Article 17 of the Indo-UAE extradition treaty allows for the addition of “linked offences”. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case in July.“If they were following Section 21 (Extradition Act), my father should have been released last year because he is not charged with anything else and he would have served the maximum sentence for this (bribery) charge by last July,” Alois said.
“All my father asked for is exactly what India promised Nirav Modi. Simply that India follows its own law. That’s all. No special treatment. No political favour. Just respect for their law, thus applying the same guarantee that India gives to the British court (in Modi’s case).
“Alois said the family had been seeking a meeting with Indo-Pacific Affairs Minister Seema Malhotra for months. He added that his brother Alaric would meet her on Wednesday after she finally reported her availability.Michelle’s family is also upset with the UK government. Alois said his father was “tired of not seeing the UK government take any action”.However, a UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “The UK government is committed to resolving Christian Michel’s case as soon as possible. We continue to provide consular assistance to Mr Michel and his family, and have continually raised his case directly with the Government of India.”