New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) In a relief to alleged middleman Christian Michel James, the Delhi High Court on Thursday modified his bail conditions in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland money laundering case.

Considering that James is a foreign national with no roots in India and also his inability to arrange a local surety, the high court modified the earlier bail condition. Instead of furnishing a personal bond and surety bond of Rs 5 lakh each, he should now furnish a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh with a cash surety in the enhanced sum of Rs 10 lakh.

Further, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma also modified the bail condition to surrender his passport, which has already expired, before the trial court to the extent that he should be released on bail without depositing his passport "immediately".

"However, the FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office) shall ensure that the applicant does not leave the country, and the British High Commission (or the concerned authority issuing the applicant's passport) shall ensure that the applicant's fresh passport, whenever the same is ready, is not handed over to the applicant, but directly deposited with the trial court under intimation to this court," the high court said.

The court observed that the presence of the accused is essential for ensuring the effective conduct of trial proceedings and if an accused was to abscond and remain unavailable, it may cause prejudice to the trial.

Therefore, while the genuine inability to furnish surety can be considered by a court, it must also ensure that any relaxation in this regard does not compromise the integrity or continuity of the trial process, it said.

The high court said to ensure adequate safeguards against any risk of absconding while also balancing James' right to seek enlargement on bail, it is directed that the condition that he should deposit his passport with the trial court, as modified, which shall not be released without the permission of the court, should be "strictly adhered to".

Justice Sharma directed James to strictly adhere to the conditions imposed by the trial court, including marking his attendance physically in the office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or the investigating officer (IO) concerned once every 15 days after his release.

"The applicant shall also furnish the details of his residential address where he intends to reside post-release. Before being released from jail, the said address will be verified by the trial court through the Enforcement Directorate," the high court said.

James sought relaxations in the bail condition which asked him to furnish a surety of Rs 5 lakh.

Besides, he also sought to revoke the condition of surrendering his passport saying his old passport has expired and the process of obtaining a new one is likely to take at least four to eight weeks.

James' counsel Aljo K Joseph had contended that till his passport is renewed, he cannot be made to languish in jail even after securing bail.

He further said James is a foreign national and no one from India will come forward to stand as a surety for him.

The ED's counsel opposed the plea saying both these bail conditions were just, fair and reasonable and said James was a foreign national with no roots in India, and if he furnished no local surety, there was no way to ensure his presence in India.

Considering his previous conduct, the ED has said in its reply that it would be difficult to secure his presence in the future if the condition was waived off.

The ED also objected to the plea saying he could undertake the process of renewal of his passport and the high court could direct the embassy that once the passport was renewed, it should be handed over to the investigating officer or sent straightaway to the trial court to check any misuse.

On March 4, the high court granted bail to James in the ED case while the Supreme Court granted him reprieve in a related CBI case on February 18.

Probe agencies reported irregularities in the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from Italian manufacturing company AgustaWestland.

James was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 and was subsequently arrested by the CBI and the ED.

He is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case and the other two are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.

The CBI, in its charge-sheet, claimed an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer due to the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010, for the supply of VVIP choppers worth 556.262 million euros.

The ED charge-sheet filed against James in June 2016 alleged he received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland. PTI SKV SKV KSS KSS