India, Aug. 9 -- A Delhi court on Thursday refused to release Christian Michel James, the alleged Augusta Westland VVIP chopper middleman, from prison, noting that he has been accused of serious offences carrying punishment up to life imprisonment.

The order was passed by special judge Sanjay Jindal on Thursday while dealing with a plea moved by James, through his lawyer Advocate Aljo K Joseph, seeking release under Section 436A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPc), which deals with the maximum period for which an undertrial prisoner can be detained.

James in his plea said that he had already completed the maximum period of sentence of seven years in the case and hence ought to be released.

The plea stated that James had remained in c...