New Delhi, (Asian independent) A court here on Thursday granted bail to former Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma, in connection with a case related to alleged corruption in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.
Granting bail to Sharma on a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh, with one surety in the like amount, Special Judge Arvind Kumar took note of the CBI’s submission, in which the probe agency counsel said it had no objection for granting the bail to the former bureaucrat.
Earlier this month, a special court had taken cognisance of the CBI’s supplementary charge sheet filed in the AgustaWestland VVIP Chopper scam against ex-Defence Secretary and CAG Shashi Kant Sharma, and four retired officials of the Indian Air Force.
On September 19, 2020, the CBI, had filed a supplementary charge sheet against 15 accused, including alleged middleman Christian Michel and accused-turned-approver Rajiv Saxena, in connection with the alleged corruption in the VVIP chopper deal.
The CBI had earlier filed a charge sheet in this case on September 1, 2017 against the then IAF chief S.P. Tyagi and 11 other accused.
On January 1, 2014, India cancelled the contract with Finmeccanica’s British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and on charges of paying kickbacks amounting to Rs 423 crore.