[Embraer Bribery Case] Delhi High Court grants bail to Lawyer Gautam Khaitan

Justice Jasmeet Singh of the Delhi High Court recently granted bail to lawyer Gautam Khaitan in a 2016 case related to alleged commission of USD 5.67 million paid by the Brazillian Company Embraer to swing a deal in 2008 for three EMB-145 aircraft with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

A case was registered in 2016 where Khaitan was not named, however, he was arrested on August 25, 2022 in connection with that case, and his bail plea got rejected by a trial court on September 3, 2022.

The counsel appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) stated that Dev Inder Bhalla, Director of M/s Interdev Pte. Ltd Singapore had stated that the agreement for receiving a commission of USD 5.76 million was vetted by Khaitan. He further stated that Khaitan was coordinating with Bhalla for executing an agreement between M/s Interdev Aviation Services Pte. Ltd., Singapore, and M/s KRBL DMCC Dubai for the routing of funds totaling Rs. 3.27 million USD out of a total of 5.76 million USD.

The counsel for the CBI further stated that there was official communication from Brazil and Switzerland against Khaitan and that these were serious allegations that need to be investigated.

Justice Singh, however, noted, “In the present case, the case is of the year 2016. Almost more than six years have elapsed and it cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be held that the investigation is at a nascent stage. Six years is a long period of time.”

The single-judge bench opined that the magnitude of the amount involved cannot be a consideration to deny the right of liberty of an individual and pointed out that Khaitan had not been named in the First Information Report (FIR), the allegations against him were only based on the statements of various witnesses and official communications.

The court also noted that no government official had been named or identified to have kickback and stated that the CBI could have verified the statements of various witnesses, and if it was found to be significant, the charge sheet should have been filed.

Accordingly, Noting that Khaitan satisfied the triple test, the court granted bail to him and directed him to furnish a personal bond of Rs. 25,000 with one surety of like amount.

Case Title: Gautam Khaitan v. Central Bureau of Investigation