Have 'some grievance' against British govt, Michel tells court

Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in the '3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal, has informed a special CBI court that he had "some grievance" against the British government.

Currently on hunger strike, Michel appeared through video conferencing on Monday before the special CBI judge during the resumed hearing of the VVIP chopper case. He informed the court that "he has some grievance against the British government, and he has no grievance against the jail authorities", according to the court order.

Michel has been lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail since December 2018. As per the CBI's charge sheet against him, he is accused of playing a key role in alleged bribing of government servants to swing the helicopter deal in favour of UK's AgustaWestland.


The Tihar jail authority sent a letter dated November 27 to the court, informing that Michel was on hunger strike. According to the letter, first secretary of the British High Commission Edward Bossney visited the jail on November 26 to meet Michel, a British citizen. Even after the counsellor access, Michel was not taking meals.