Without Sending Notice, Supreme Court Asks Modi Govt to Furnish Details of Rafale Decision-Making Process

The Supreme Court clarified that it does not want information on pricing and technical details of deal.

New Delhi: Acting on the plea seeking details of the agreement between India and Russia for 36 Rafale fighter jets, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to provide details of Rafale decision making process in “sealed cover”.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked the Centre to furnish details of Rafale decision making process by October 29 while clarifying that it does not want information on pricing and technical details of deal. It scheduled the next hearing on PILs on October 31.

“We are not issuing any notice to the government. We only want to satisfy ourselves about the legitimacy of the decision-making process,” the bench said.

The bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, was hearing a plea which referred to the recent “controversy” over the Rs 58,000 crore deal between India and Dassault Aviation, a French company, for purchasing 36 combat jets and sought judicial intervention to put an end to the raging debate.

The Centre opposed the petitions filed against the Rafale deal and sought their dismissal on ground that they have been filed to gain political mileage.

“Rafale deal pertains to national security and such issues cannot be reviewed judicially,” Attorney General KK Venugopal told the Supreme Court.

On this, the top court clarified that it is not taking into account the allegations made in the petitions.

“We make it clear that the court is not taking into account arguments made by the petitioner. Their arguments are grossly inadequate,” the court said.

Meanwhile, Congress leader and RTI activist Tehseen Poonawala withdrew his petition against the Rafale aircraft deal.

The PIL, filed by lawyer Vineet Dhanda, had sought a direction to the Centre to reveal details of the deal and the comparative prices during the UPA and NDA rule in a sealed cover to the apex court.

“Issue an appropriate writ …Or direction directing the respondents (Centre and the Ministry of Defence) to file the details of the agreement entered into between the Union of India and France with regard to the purchase of 36 Rafale Fighter Jets in a sealed envelope,” said the plea.

The plea said the criticism had reached a “proverbial nadir” and opposition parties have adopted a very “ignominious and profligate way even to criticise the Prime Minister of the country”.

Seeking intervention of the court, the plea said, “In order to give full stop to denigrating statements, the agreement entered into between the Government of India and the Dassault Aviation is required to be known at least by this court.”

It said the apex court may peruse the details of the defence deal the details of which can be supplied in a sealed cover and “such information may not be made public due to the defence reasons”.

The court had also listed another plea filed earlier seeking a stay on the high-profile defence deal with the French government, said earlier that the instant plea would be taken up together the same day.