Rafale deal: The petitioners alleged that the court relied upon “incorrect claims” made by the Centre.The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a plea seeking review of its verdict in the Rafale case. Former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and senior advocate Prashant Bhushan had earlier moved the apex court, seeking review of its December 14 judgment on the Rafale fighter jet deal. The petitioners alleged that the court relied upon “incorrect claims” made by the Centre.
Prashant Bhushan today asked the Supreme Court to hear the petition seeking review of its judgement on RafaleDeal. Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said, “Will do something for the listing of the case as a bench is to be constituted for it.”
The bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Justices SK Kaul and K M Joseph had earlier dismissed all four petitions seeking a court-monitored probe, saying it found “no occasion to really doubt the process” of decision making, pricing and selection of offset partners.
Ruling out any intervention on this “sensitive” issue and underlining that “our country cannot afford to be unprepared/underprepared”, the bench said “perception of individuals cannot be the basis of a fishing and roving enquiry by this court, especially in such matters”.
The judges said “we do not find any substantial material on record to show that this is a case of commercial favouritism to any party by the Indian government, as the option to choose the IOP (Indian Offset Partner) does not rest with the Indian government”.
The choice of Reliance Aerostructure Ltd as an offset partner by Dassault Aviation Ltd, which manufactures the Rafale, was one of the issues raised by the petitioners who alleged that the deal was tweaked to favour the Anil Ambani-owned company.
Earlier this month, a CAG report on Capital Acquisitions in Indian Air Force, which was tabled in Rajya Sabha, noted that the Rafale deal negotiated by the NDA government was 2.86 per cent lower than the previous one from UPA-era.
Compared to the earlier deal, according to the CAG report, in which 126 Rafale jets were to be purchased, the country has saved 17.08 per cent in costs towards the India Specific Enhancements to be fitted in the 36 Rafale jets under the new deal. The CAG also noted that there was an improvement of only one month in the delivery schedule of the 2016 contract in comparison to the 2007 offer.
Earlier this month, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on Capital Acquitions in Indian Air Force, which was tabled in Rajya Sabha, noted that the Rafale deal negotiated by the NDA government was 2.86 per cent lower than the previous one from UPA-era.
After the apex court’s verdict on Rafale, a controversy erupted over a paragraph in the 29-page ruling. On Page 21, in Para 25 of the judgment, the bench stated that the pricing details of the Rafale was shared with the CAG which, in turn, shared its report with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
But Mallikarjun Kharge, who chairs the PAC, says no such report has come to him yet and “neither does the CAG know about it”
A day after the Rafale judgment, the Centre had moved an application in the Supreme Court for carrying out a correction in a paragraph in its judgment. The Centre pointed out that “misinterpretation” of its note has “resulted in a controversy in the public domain”. In the application, the Centre said the two sentences in paragraph 25 of the judgment appeared to have been based on the note submitted by it along with the pricing details in a sealed cover, but indicated the words used by the court lent a different meaning.
Clarifying its position, the Centre said it did not say that the CAG report was examined by PAC or a redacted portion was placed before Parliament.
