Agusta Westland chopper deal case: CBI withdraws plea seeking cancellation of Tyagi’s bail

Tyagi (72) was arrested on December 9, 2016, along with his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and Gautam Khaitan, a lawyer, in the case relating to procurement of 12 VVIP choppers from UK-based AgustaWestland during the UPA-2 regime.

SP Tyagi, AgustaWestland case, Chopper scam, SP Tyagi AgustaWestland case

Former Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi and Sanjeev denied the charges of kickbacks.. (File Photo)

The CBI on Tuesday withdrew from Delhi High Court their year-old plea seeking cancellation of bail to former IAF chief S P Tyagi and two others in the AgustaWestland chopper deal case. The request by the CBI for withdrawal of appeal against the trial court order in the case was made before Justice Anu Malhotra on the ground that a chargesheet has been filed in the matter.

The judge allowed the CBI request and termed the appeal as “dismissed as withdrawn”. The CBI had approached the high court in December 2016 against the trial court order granting bail to Tyagi, saying the agency had failed to state the alleged bribe amount and when it was paid. While granting the relief, the trial court had also taken note of Tyagi’s advancing age and health condition and said no purpose would be served by keeping him behind bars.

Tyagi (72) was arrested on December 9, 2016, along with his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and Gautam Khaitan, a lawyer, in the case relating to procurement of 12 VVIP choppers from UK-based AgustaWestland during the UPA-2 regime. The former IAF chief and Sanjeev denied the charges of kickbacks. Khaitan, who was represented by advocate Pramod Kumar Dubey, had also opposed the charges.

Sanjeev and Gautam Khaitan were given bail by the trial court on January 4, 2017, observing that no purpose would be served by keeping them in custody. The CBI had also appealed against their bail in the high court. The agency filed the chargesheet in September 2017, alleging that Tyagi not only conspired with others to reduce the ceiling of 12 VVIP choppers, but manipulated other operational requirements as well so that AgustaWestland got the contract, in lieu of bribery.

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