The Supreme Court will on February 26 hear two petitions seeking review of its December 14 verdict that dismissed challenges to the government’s agreement with France to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets.
The review petition filed by former union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and lawyer Prashant Bhushan will be heard in chambers and not in open court.
The three men had said the court relied upon "patently incorrect" claims made by the government in an unsigned note given in a sealed cover to the court. They have claimed that the judgment was based on "errors apparent on the face of the record" and non-consideration of subsequent information which has come to light would cause a grave miscarriage of justice.
Besides seeking review of the judgment, they have also sought hearing of the plea in an open court. The top court will also hear the petition filed by AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh through advocate Dheeraj Singh seeking review of the December 14 verdict.
On December 14, 2018, the apex court had dismissed various pleas challenging the deal between India and France for procurement of 36 Rafale jets saying there was no occasion to "really doubt the decision making process" warranting setting aside of the contract.
It had rejected the pleas seeking lodging of an FIR and the court-monitored probe alleging irregularities in the Rs 58,000 crore deal, in which both the countries have entered into an inter-governmental agreement (IGA).
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had dealt with "three broad areas of concern" raised in the petitions -- the decision making process, pricing and the choice of Indian offset partners (IOP) -- and said there was no reason for intervention by the court on the "sensitive issue" of purchase of 36 jets.