AgustaWestland money laundering case: Lawyer Gautam Khaitan seeks relaxation of condition to report to ED office periodically

A Delhi court is slated to hear on April 3 a plea moved by lawyer Gautam Khaitan, an accused in the AgustaWestland money laundering case, to further modify or set aside a bail condition requiring him to periodically report to office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED)..Earlier, in 2021, while rejecting the ED's plea to cancel Khaitan's bail, the court had directed Khaitan to report to the ED's office once a week.This condition was imposed as part of measures to ensure that Khaitan has no chance of tampering with evidence or influencing witnesses. .The condition was later modified in 2022 after Khaitan moved a plea stating that he was suffering from various ailments and that no purpose was being served by reporting to the ED office once a week beyond marking his presence. Khaitan had submitted further that he was ready and willing to cooperate with the probe and report to the ED office as and when required by the agency. As such, he had urged the court to waive the earlier requirement of him having to appear before the ED office once a week. .The ED had opposed the plea, contending that Khaitan was mischievously trying to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to get such conditions revoked. The agency added that the COVID-19 pandemic had lost steam and that there was no requirement to revoke the condition referred to. .After considering these submissions, the court had modified the condition to state that Khaitan would only have to report to the ED office once a month by an order passed on March 23, 2022. .Khaitan has now moved another similar application, as per a March 7, 2023 order passed by a Rouse Avenue court in Delhi. .The ED told the Court that it would be filing a reply to the said application by the next date of hearing. Special Judge Arvind Kumar also took on record the ED's submission that communication between the Indian government and the Italian government regarding the service of summons is already on record. .Khaitan's application was then posted for consideration on April 3 when certain other applications moved by three others accused would also be taken up. .The main case will be taken up next on March 22. .Khaitan has been accused of receiving kickbacks for the ₹ 3,600 defense deal with Italian chopper manufacturer AgustaWestland for 12 AW-101 choppers during the Congress party led-UPA era in 2010. After his arrest, Khaitan was granted bail in connection with this case in 2015. The ED's application to cancel bail in this case was rejected by the court on March 2, 2021. .In 2019, Khaitan was arrested by the ED in another case under the Black Money Act of 2015, after the probe agency claimed to have unearthed material against him in Income Tax raids conducted at his offices in Delhi-NCR. He was granted bail later that year in this case by a Special CBI Court presided over by Judge Arvind Kumar..[Read March 7 order]