Jo Johnson met Christian Michel in Tihar on January 31

In his plea, Michel added that he has been in judicial custody for the past six years and that in this period, none of his relatives has visited him.

Published on: Feb 4, 2025, 08:48:15 IST

By Neeraj Chauhan

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Jo Johnson, member of the House of Lords and brother of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, met one of the accused in the AgustaWestland case, Christian Michel, in Delhi’s Tihar Jail last week to discuss “personal and family matters”, people familiar with the development said on Monday.

The people added that Joseph Johnson Edmund, the Baron Johnson of Marylebone, is related to Michel by marriage, and met him at Tihar Jail number 4 at 11 am on Friday, January 31 for an hour.

Johnson’s office did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

While it is not known what exactly transpired between them, Michel’s plea to a Delhi court last week, ahead of the meeting, stated that Johnson wanted to know about his well-being and discuss personal and family matters.

In his plea, Michel added that he has been in judicial custody for the past six years and that in this period, none of his relatives has visited him.

He urged the court to allow Johnson to meet him. His plea was filed through his lawyer Aljo K Joseph.

Michel cited his hip replacement surgery at AIIMS, scheduled on February 11, as one of the reasons for the meeting. “It is also stated that Johnson Joseph Edmund is also a respectable person being member of the House of Lords, England,” the plea added.

The court agreed.

“In these facts and circumstances, in the interest of justice, Jo Joseph is allowed to meet Christian Michel, who is stated to be lodged in Jail number 4, Tihar,” said Sanjeev Aggarwal, Special CBI Judge, in his order on January 30, seen by HT.

The Judge directed the Superintendent of jail to allow the British leader “to meet Michel at 11 am on January 31 for an hour, after completion of formalities, as per rules”.

Christian Michel James, a British national who allegedly acted as a middleman in the ₹3,727 crore VVIP chopper deal from the United Progressive Alliance-era, was extradited to India from the UAE in December 2018 and has been lodged in Tihar since.

It is alleged that Michel was paid Euro 42 million (around ₹375 crore) bribe by Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland for further paying to Indian politicians, bureaucrats and defence ministry personnel to swing the deal for 12 VVIP choppers in favour of the company. The contract – alleged violations and kickbacks in the deal became one of the biggest controversies during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime -- for supplying 12 VVIP choppers was given to Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland in February 2010.

The deal was eventually scrapped in 2014.

After having been denied bail by the trial court and the high court, Michel approached the Supreme Court on December 6 last year seeking bail. The next hearing on his bail plea is February 18.

Both the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have filed their respective charge sheets in the case, but the trial is yet to begin.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Chauhan
Neeraj Chauhan is a senior journalist with Hindustan Times and an investigative reporter specialising in national security, terrorism, organised crime, narcotics, corruption, financial crime and complex investigations. With over 21 years of experience across Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Pioneer, he has built deep expertise in India’s internal security and law-enforcement landscape. Neeraj has extensively covered India’s principal investigative, intelligence and security agencies, including the NIA, CBI, ED, IB, R&AW, MHA and other central security forces. His work has included deeply reported investigations into terrorism, terror financing, cross-border crime, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud and political and corporate corruption. He has reported on some of the most significant terror attacks and security developments in India over the past two decades, including the Delhi serial blasts, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the recent Pahalgam attack. His reporting has also chronicled the rise and decline of the Indian Mujahideen, the activities and subsequent crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Islamist extremist networks, the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgencies in the Northeast and Maoist violence. Some of Neeraj’s major breaking stories are in Aryan Khan drug case, Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, interception of a 3,000-kg Afghan heroin consignment worth about ₹21,000 crore at Mundra port, Sri Lanka easter bombings, Aarushi-Hemraj murders in Noida, 2G scam, coal block allocation scam, AgustWestland VVIP chopper deal and major bank frauds and extradition cases involving Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. His reporting is marked by an ability to cultivate sources, analyse confidential and complex documents, and follow investigations over several years—from the initial breakthrough to chargesheets, trials and international legal proceedings. He specialises in making complicated security and investigative developments accessible while examining their wider implications for governance and public policy. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow at the University of Westminster, Neeraj also spent time at the Financial Times as part of the fellowship. He was also a Robert Bosch Media Ambassadors India-Germany Fellow, studying at the University of Tübingen and working with Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin. He has previously taught investigative journalism and crime reporting as a guest faculty member at the Times School of Journalism. Over more than two decades, Neeraj has established himself as an authoritative voice on India’s national security and investigative landscape, with his reporting closely followed by officials, investigators, lawyers, policymakers and readers seeking insight into some of the country’s most complex and consequential developments.Read More

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