Rafale deal: SC clean chit to Modi govt for second time

The Supreme Court Thursday gave clean chit to the Modi government on the purchase of 36 fully loaded Rafale fighter jets from French company Dassault Aviation, rejecting the plea for registration of an FIR by the CBI for alleged commission of cognisable offence in the deal.

The apex court in two separate but concurring verdicts said the review petitions were without merit and required to be dismissed.

The top court rejected the pleas seeking review of the December 14, 2018 verdict in which it had said that there was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets.

It was not satisfied with the submission that it decided the disputed questions of facts in the Rs 58,000 crore deal "prematurely" without investigation.

The court said it had examined the three aspects (pricing, decision making process, offsets) on merits and did not consider it appropriate to issue any directions, as prayed for by the petitioners which automatically covered the direction for registration of FIR.

The rejection of the review petitions is tantamount to the apex court giving the clean chit to the Narendra Modi government for the second time.

Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul, who were part of the three-judge bench, said: "There was no ground made out for initiating prosecution under section 340 of CrPC.

"We are, thus, of the view that the review petitions are without any merit and are accordingly dismissed, once again, re-emphasising that our original decision was based within the contours of Article 32 of the Constitution of India."
Dealing with the registration of FIR aspect, they said: "No doubt that there was a prayer made for registration of FIR and further investigation but then once we had examined the three aspects (pricing, Decision Making Process, Offsets) on merits we did not consider it appropriate to issue any directions, as prayed for by the petitioners which automatically covered the direction for registration of FIR, prayed for."
"It would well nigh become impossible for different opinions to be set out in the record if each opinion was to be construed as to be complied with before the contract was entered into. It would defeat the very purpose of debate in the decision making process."