New Delhi: A Delhi court has sought a response from Tihar Jail authorities following allegations by Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam, that attempts were made to poison him in custody.

Court seeks report from Tihar officials

Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal directed the Director General (Prisons), Tihar Jail, to submit a status report on Michel’s claims by 16 April 2025. The court emphasised that the allegations were "specific and serious," warranting a detailed account of any action taken by jail authorities.

Additionally, the judge instructed the jail superintendent to ensure that Michel is taken to the orthopaedic department at AIIMS on 7 April 2025. The directive came after the British national complained of persistent pain following his surgery on 11 February 2025.

AgustaWestland scam and Michel’s extradition

Michel was extradited from Dubai to India on 4 December 2018 after spending four months in custody there. He is one of three alleged middlemen—alongside Guido Haschke and Carlos Gerosa—accused of facilitating bribes in the controversial AgustaWestland deal.

The AgustaWestland case involves allegations that illicit payments were made to middlemen and possibly politicians to secure a contract for 12 helicopters. The Indian government, under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), signed the £350 million (Rs 3,600 crore) deal in February 2010 with AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of Italian defence giant Finmeccanica. These helicopters were intended for use by India’s top leaders, including the President and Prime Minister.

However, investigations revealed that technical specifications—such as the helicopter’s cabin height, operational ceiling, and maximum altitude—were altered to favour AgustaWestland. The deal was scrapped in 2014 under the Congress-led government after corruption allegations surfaced.

Investigation and international probe

The scam came to light in 2012 when reports emerged that Indian politicians and bureaucrats had allegedly accepted bribes to influence the agreement. The case was first uncovered in Italy, leading to the 2013 arrest of AgustaWestland’s then-CEO Bruno Spagnolini on charges of bribing middlemen to secure the contract with the Indian Air Force.

India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) continues to probe the matter, with Michel at the centre of the controversy. His latest claims of being poisoned in jail add another layer of intrigue to the high-profile case.

(With inputs from PTI)