New Delhi, May 4 -- The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Centre's response on a petition filed by Christian Michel James, the alleged middleman in the Rs.3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case, seeking his release from jail on the ground that he has already served the maximum sentence for the offences for which he was extradited.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the Centre and the investigating agencies, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and posted the matter for July.

He had earlier approached the Delhi high court for similar relief, which was dismissed on April 8.

Advocate Aljo K Joseph, who appeared for Michel, told the top court that the petitio...