[AgustaWestland Case] ED's Plea to Cancel Bail of Gautam Khaitan Rejected

A special CBI court dismissed the petition of the Enforcement Directorate seeking the cancellation of the bail of Gautam Khaitan, one of the main defendants in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP Chopper scandal. 

The anti-money laundering agency had moved the court, alleging that Khaitan had repeatedly contacted Pareen Khan, a 70-year-old UAE woman who was a "witness" in the case, instructing her not to visit India to join the investigation. 

The court saw no force in ED's arguments and held that Khan had not yet been summoned as a witness, even though the Organization had lodged one prosecution complaint and eight additional prosecution complaints in the last six and a half years. 

ED said that Khaitan had "tutored" Khan for "presumable questions of investigation" and tried to "scare her off" from joining the probe. It also said that Khaitan had met Khan in London and Dubai on six occasions between 2016 and 2018, "misusing" the travel permits issued by the local court. 

Khan had deposed Khaitan before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), claiming that the magistrate had urged her not to enter the investigation. 

Appearing for Khaitan, Sidharth Luthra and Pramod Dubey, senior advocates, refuted all ED charges and said that it was Khan who was continuously investigating the status of the Khaitan inquiry. Khan was also said to have been a family friend of Khaitan's, who has been a lawyer for more than 40 years and is his client. 

The Court ordered Khaitan to report to the ED office once a week.