Rafale Deal: Centre submits decision-making details to SC
The Centre has submitted the details of its decision-making process in the Rafale fighter jet deal with France to the Supreme Court in a sealed cover, ANI reported on Saturday. The court is hearing two pleas against the agreement.
On October 10, the court had asked the Centre to apprise it of the details in a sealed cover by October 29, when it will take up the matter for hearing. The judges, however, did not issue an official notice to the Centre, and told the government that its response need not cover the matter of pricing, Bar and Bench reported.
A three-bench judge headed by Chief Justice (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi along with Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KM Joseph is hearing the matter of a petition filed by ML Sharma. The petitioner has charged the government with corruption in the deal. The apex court however made it clear that it is not taking into account allegations made in the petition. “We would like to be appraised of the details of the steps in the decision-making process in the Rafale Deal. No official notice. SC also makes it clear that the Centre’s response need not cover issue of pricing.” the apex court had said.
Supreme Court lawyer Vivek Dhanda, who has filed the first plea, has urged the court to direct the Centre to reveal details of the deal and the comparative prices during the National Democratic Alliance and United Progressive Alliance governments.
India signed the agreement with France in 2016 to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of Rs 58,000 crore. The Congress has accused the Narendra Modi government of signing an overpriced deal. It has also alleged that the government favoured Ambani’s company, which has no experience in the sector.
