VVIP chopper scam: Delhi court reserves Gautam Khaitan bail order

Gautam Khaitan's bail order will be pronounced on February 19 after arguements on the bail were heard in a Delhi court on Friday.

Khaitan, an accused in the Agusta Westland VVIP chopper scam, is also an accused in a fresh Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, a case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

After hearing the arguments from the prosecution and the defence, the court reserved the order for February 19. During the hearing, Khaitan's lawyer Siddhartha Luthra said the account numbers which the ED have mentioned in the reply opposing the bail are accounts which have already been closed earlier.

"How can he be prosecuted when the accounts listed by the probing agency were closed by the Income Tax Department earlier. The details of the searches conducted have not been clearly given. The Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) has been denied to me as well. The ED had all the relevant documents and the details and yet have not found anything substantial," said Luthra.

He further added that this is a case of malicious and unjustified arrest. The ED informed the court that three more accounts have surfaced during the investigation. The investigating agency claimed that Khaitan's income tax accounts and bank details are in variance.