Christian Michel James
The Rouse Avenue Court on Wednesday directed the Director General of Prisons to submit a comprehensive report on Christian Michel James’s conduct during his six-year judicial custody in Tihar Jail.
James’s legal team requested the court to obtain the report, arguing that, as per jail rules, prisoners with good conduct are entitled to a one-month remission for each year served. Special CBI Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal has now asked the DG of Prisons to file a consolidated report on James’s behavior.
Additionally, a notice has been issued to the Enforcement Directorate, with the matter scheduled for hearing on March 18.
James was extradited from Dubai in 2018 and granted bail in cases related to the AgustaWestland chopper deal, involving both the CBI and the ED. His lawyers argued that, under jail regulations, a conduct report is mandatory once a prisoner has served one-third of their maximum sentence—which they claim is seven years in this case.
However, the court raised concerns about this claim, pointing out that the CBI had added Section 467 of the IPC, which carries a harsher punishment. The court asked, “How can you say that his maximum sentence would be seven years only?”
James’s lawyers countered that, under the Extradition Treaty, he can only be tried for offenses that were included in the extradition request, which did not list Section 467 of the IPC. They maintained that the highest applicable sentence should be seven years, under Section 420 of the IPC.
Request For Remission
An application has been filed seeking James’s conduct report for the past 6 years. His lawyers emphasized that as per jail rules, good conduct should entitle him to remission.
James was extradited from Dubai on December 4, 2018, after spending two months in custody there. The court’s decision on whether he qualifies for remission will be closely watched in the upcoming hearing.
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