Rafale jet controversy: A timeline of what has happened so far

The first batch of the Indian Air Force (IAF)’s Dassault Rafale fighter jets that took off from France’s Dassault Aviation production facility, Merignac on July 27 made their way to India at Ambala airbase in Haryana after completing a 7,000-kilometre journey. (Image: Twitter @IAF_MCC)

The Rafale jets deal between India and France is back in the news after a French judge on July 3 ordered a judicial investigation into the Rs 59,000- crore deal.

The “highly sensitive” investigation will look into the alleged “corruption and favouritism” charges facing the 2016 deal for 36 Dassault-built Rafale fighter aircraft, online French journal Mediapart reported.

The Congress, which has been alleging corruption in the deal, has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to also order a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into the matter. The party raised several questions about the deal and unsuccessfully tried to make a poll issue in the 2019 general election.

The government has denied irregularities in the high-profile government-to-government deal.

The Congress has claimed massive irregularities, alleging that it teh government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government during negotiations for Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircrafts (MMRCA).

Here is a timeline of the deal and what happened before and after:

2011: The Indian Air Force (IAF) announces the models that meet its specifications to upgrade to multi-role combat aircraft and names the Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon.

2012: Dassault Aviation emerges the winner with the lowest bid, beating the Eurofighter’s Typhoon and Swedish Saab’s Gripen-D light fighter jets.

July 2014: The French government intervenes to push for the Rafale deal with India. At the time, the bid is for 126 aircraft.

December 2014: Both governments discuss issues such as pricing and a guarantee clause for Dassault during delegation talks.

January 2015: Then Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar says there are “serious problems” in negotiations and instead of Rafales, additional Sukhoi-30MKI fighters will be adequate if talks fall through

February 2015: Ministry of Defence sources announce the deal as “effectively dead”.

April 2015: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits France. Talks pick up and on April 10, the countries announce a deal for 36 aircraft in fly-away condition.

February 2016: Pricing issue still unresolved, Parrikar says there is a “deadlock”.

October 2016: Businessman Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence and Dassault Aviation announces a joint venture.

September 2016: The Indian government signs a Rs 59,000-crore deal with France’s Dassault Aviation to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets on September 23.

September 2018: Former French president Francois Hollande reveals he “had no choice” in selecting the Indian offset partner and Reliance was named by the Indian side. Dassault says it was its decision to choose Reliance.

December 2018: The Supreme Court (SC) of India on December 14, 2018 dismisses petitions seeking an investigation into alleged irregularities in the Rafale deal.

February 2019: A new report claims the defence ministry objected to PMO’s “parallel negotiations” with France in 2015. Rahul Gandhi alleges "black and white proof of corruption".

May 2019: The SC reserves order on pleas filed by Arun Shourie, Prashant Bhushan, Yashwant Sinha and others against the SC’s 2018 verdict. The government files an affidavit seeking dismissal of the review.

November 2019: An SC bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph rejects petitions seeking a review of a 2018 decision that gave a clean chit to the government in the Rafale deal.

July 2020: Five twin-engine Rafales arrive in India. The other 26 jets are expected to be delivered by 2021-end.

March 2021: Mediapart journalist Yann Philippin, reports on the deal. In a tweet, he says that a first complaint was “buried” by a former Parquet National Financier (PNF), or national financial prosecutor chief Elaine Houlette in 2019.

April 2021: Mediapart cites an investigation by the French anti-corruption agency to report that Dassault Aviation paid an Indian middleman around a million Euros to cut the deal. A charge that the company “rejected”.

June 2021: PNF formally initiates an investigation into the Rafale jets deal on June 14 after fresh allegations of “wrongdoings” emerge in March and a complaint is filed by French anti-corruption NGO Sherpa.