AgustaWestland case: Delhi court grants interim bail to Rajeev Saxena till December 11

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Friday granted interim bail to businessman Rajeev Saxena till December 11 in connection with a case related to the scam related to the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.

Special judge Arvind Kumar, in a hearing held through video-conferencing, also granted regular bail to Sandeep Tyagi and others who marked their presence via video conferencing. The court also asked them to furnish a personal bond and a surety of Rs two lakhs each.

The accused were summoned by the court after it took cognisance of the supplementary chargesheet, filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) last month, in connection with the AgustaWestland scam case.

Special public prosecutor DP Singh, representing the CBI, had earlier submitted before the court that there is enough material to proceed against the accused chargesheeted in the matter.

According to sources, former defence secretary Shashi Kant Sharma, who later became Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), has not been named as an accused in the chargesheet as CBI has not received sanction to prosecute Sharma to date. Sources said another fresh chargesheet will be filed after CBI received sanction to prosecute him.

Rajeev Saxena, a Dubai-based businessman, was extradited from the UAE in January last year. He was earlier arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case related to the scam, but was later granted bail by a court.

The AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal was finalised during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime under the leadership of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh but got mired in allegations of kickbacks.