Rouse Avenue Court Seeks Conduct Report on Christian Michel James from Tihar Jail
New Delhi: The Rouse Avenue Court has directed the Director General (DG) of Prisons to submit a comprehensive report on the conduct of Christian Michel James during his six-year judicial custody in Tihar Jail. This directive follows a request from James’s legal team, which argued that jail rules allow prisoners with good conduct to receive one month’s remission for each year served.
Legal Battle Over Conduct Report
Special CBI Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal has mandated the submission of a consolidated conduct report detailing James’s behavior while in custody. In addition to the prison authorities, the court has also issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), signaling its involvement in the proceedings. The case is scheduled for its next hearing on March 18.
James’s lawyers emphasized that under jail regulations, it is compulsory to file a conduct report once a prisoner completes one-third of their maximum sentence. According to them, since the alleged maximum sentence in James’s case is seven years, the conduct report should have been filed.
Background of Christian Michel James’s Case
Christian Michel James, a British national, was extradited from Dubai in 2018 in connection with the high-profile AgustaWestland chopper deal scam. He was accused of being a middleman in a bribery and money laundering case linked to the purchase of VVIP helicopters for the Indian government. While James was granted bail in the CBI and ED cases, his prolonged custody has become a matter of legal contention.
His legal representatives, Advocates Aljo K Joseph and Vishnu, presented their arguments in court, asserting that the submission of the conduct report is a legal requirement. They have urged the court to direct jail authorities to furnish details of James’s behavior in Tihar over the past six years.
As the case progresses, the court’s decision on the conduct report could determine whether Christian Michel James qualifies for sentence remission under Indian prison rules. The upcoming hearing on March 18 will likely shed further light on the matter.
