Supreme Court seeks details of Rafale deal
Apex court restricts its queries to the decision-making process only and steers clear of pricing
The Supreme Court yesterday asked the Centre to provide details of the decision-making process in the Rafale fighter jet deal with French aeronautics company Dassault Aviation in a sealed cover by October 29. However, the apex court clarified that it did not want information on the pricing and other technical particulars.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it was not issuing a formal notice to the Centre as it had not considered the averments with regard to the allegations of corruption made in two public interest litigations (PIL) filed by two separate lawyers.
At the outset, the bench, also comprising Justices S.K. Kaul and K.M. Joseph, asked the Centre what if it sought details of the decision-making process, without the technical details and the prices, of the Rafale fighter jets.
Attorney General K.K. Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, said details on the deal cannot be shown to anybody in the interest of national security and other issues involved in the defence procurement process.
The court then sought information from the Centre on the decision-making process in the deal and fixed the next hearing on the PILs for October 31.
“We are not on the issue of pricing and suitability of the Rafale jets, but only on the decision making process,” it said. The bench added that the court was seeking the information only to satisfy itself, without considering the averments made in the petitions.
The Centre sought dismissal of the PILs on various grounds. It said they were not PIL petitions and were filed to gain political mileage.
Rafale deal is a defence agreement signed between the governments of India and France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter planes in a flyaway condition as part of the upgrading process of Indian Air Force. The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.