Rafale Documents Were Stolen from Defence Ministry, Can't be Shown in Court, Govt Tells SC
Seeking the dismissal of the review petitions against the Rafale verdict, Attorney General KK Venugopal said the possession of the documents amounts to an offence under the Official Secrets Act.
Illustration by Mir Suhail/News18.com
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New Delhi: The documents cited by a The Hindu in a report on the controversial Rafale deal were stolen from the Defence Ministry and cannot be shown in court as it would affect national security, the government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Representing the government during a hearing of review pleas against the Supreme Court’s Rafale verdict, Attorney General KK Venugopal accused the newspaper of using the document “selectively”.
"These documents are not admissible. Having these documents is an offence under the Official Secrets Act. The government is planning to launch prosecution," Venugopal said, adding that the review petitions should be dismissed.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, one of the petitioners, meanwhile, alleged that the government lied in court on the Rafale deal and should be pulled up for perjury.
The Supreme Court, reacting to the allegations of theft made against The Hindu, asked the Attorney General what steps or actions have been taken by the government after the documents were reportedly stolen. Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked Venugopal to seek instructions and apprise the steps taken by the government by Wednesday afternoon.
The court also declined to accept on record, a letter given by The Hindu Editor N Ram to Bhushan regarding the Rafale deal. "Please confine your case to the documents already submitted. We are not going to look into any new document at this stage," it observed.
The top court had on December 14 last year given a clean chit to the Modi government on acquiring 36 Rafale jet fighters in a ready-to-fly condition from French company Dassault Aviation. The bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice KM Joseph had on February 26 decided to hold an open court hearing of the pleas seeking the recall of its judgment.
Representing the government during a hearing of review pleas against the Supreme Court’s Rafale verdict, Attorney General KK Venugopal accused the newspaper of using the document “selectively”.
"These documents are not admissible. Having these documents is an offence under the Official Secrets Act. The government is planning to launch prosecution," Venugopal said, adding that the review petitions should be dismissed.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, one of the petitioners, meanwhile, alleged that the government lied in court on the Rafale deal and should be pulled up for perjury.
The Supreme Court, reacting to the allegations of theft made against The Hindu, asked the Attorney General what steps or actions have been taken by the government after the documents were reportedly stolen. Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked Venugopal to seek instructions and apprise the steps taken by the government by Wednesday afternoon.
The court also declined to accept on record, a letter given by The Hindu Editor N Ram to Bhushan regarding the Rafale deal. "Please confine your case to the documents already submitted. We are not going to look into any new document at this stage," it observed.
The top court had on December 14 last year given a clean chit to the Modi government on acquiring 36 Rafale jet fighters in a ready-to-fly condition from French company Dassault Aviation. The bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice KM Joseph had on February 26 decided to hold an open court hearing of the pleas seeking the recall of its judgment.