India, April 25 -- The Supreme Court on Friday referred to another bench a plea of alleged middleman Christian Michel James in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam case, seeking his release from jail.

The Delhi High Court had on April 8 dismissed the petition of the British national in the case, saying there was no merit in the plea of James who was extradited from Dubai in December 2018.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi took note of the fact that the earlier pleas of the accused were heard by another bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath.

"Let this matter be referred to a bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath," the CJI said.

In his petition, James assailed a prov...