Supreme Court today agreed to hear the review petition on its December 14
Rafale verdict, in which court had refused to order an investigation of the
Rafale deal and had given a clean chit to the government.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan today submitted a petition seeking a review of its judgement on Rafale deal. To which Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said "Will do something for the listing of the case as a bench is to be constituted for it."
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan has also sought hearing on plea seeking perjury prosecution of some officials for misleading court in Rafale case.
After the December verdict, the petitioners and opposition parties had alleged that government concealed important facts from the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court in December last year had refused to order an investigation of the Rafale deal, citing the inherent limitations of its power to undertake a judicial review of “sensitive” defence contracts and its lack of expertise in scrutinising pricing or technical feasibility.
“We are satisfied that there is no occasion to really doubt the process, and even if minor deviations have occurred that would not result in either setting aside the contract or requiring a detailed scrutiny by the court,” the bench had said.
“We find no reason for any intervention on the sensitive issue of purchase of 36 defence aircraft…. Perception of individuals cannot be the basis of a fishing and roving enquiry by this court, especially in such matters.”
The petitioners had alleged that the government had pulled a 2001 deal to buy 126 jets at a lower price only to conclude a fresh deal in 2015 to buy 36 jets at a higher price. The government disputed this claim, saying the cost escalation was on account of add-ons in terms of avionics and armaments.
The petitioners alleged a conspiracy at the highest level to defraud the exchequer and favour the Anil Ambani group chosen as offset partner by French aviation company Dassault, maker of Rafale jet. Congress president Rahul Gandhi had made the Rafale deal his main point of attack related to corruption against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP ahead of the recent assembly polls, which saw the Congress beating its rival in three states.