A special court granted bail to former Indian Air Force chief SP Tyagi in AgustaWestland chopper deal scam case on Monday. Special judge of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Arvind Kumar allowed Tyagi’s bail plea. Tyagi was asked to furnish a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh and one surety of like amount by the court.
The 72-year-old Tyagi was also asked not to leave the country, and not to try to persuade witnesses and hamper the probe. The bail pleas of other 2 other accused including Tyagi’s cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and a Delhi-based lawyer Gautam Khaitan are pending before the court.
During the hearing, Tyagi’s advocate Maneka Guruswamy had said that her client “could not be deprived of freedom if the investigation is taking time to complete”. The advocate also claimed that the CBI has never been able to confront Tyagi with any incriminating proof in the last 4 years since the FIR was filed.
However, additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the CBI, opposed the bail pleas, saying if released, they might pressure witnesses and hampers the “multi-layered probe by various agencies in more than one jurisdiction involving several countries”.
“We have evidence where the meetings unofficially took place for the purpose of crime. At this stage, please do not entertain their bail pleas. Let the probe be completed,” he said, seeking cancellation of the bail pleas of all the 3 accused. The matter has “tarnished country’s name,” it said further.
