The Supreme Court (SC,) on the 14th of November, announced the verdict on the Rafale deal after reviewing the petitions against the deal.
The SC dismissed all the petitions filed against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the purchase of Rafale jets from the French Government.
The petitions were filed against the purchase of 36 Rafale crafts at Rs. 59,000 crores from Dassault Aviation, which is said to be higher than the actual cost.
The Top Court also rejected a petition filed to reconsider the verdict given by the SC on the 14th December 2018. The Apex Court said the decision of the Modi Government regarding the purchase of the jets is not a matter of doubt and there is no need of reconsidering the same. The Court also announced there would be no probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding the purchase and gave a clean chit to the Modi Government.
The decision was taken by a bench of judges comprising Ranjan Gogoi, the Chief Justice of India (CJI,) Justice S.K. Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph.
Justice Kaul read out the judgement and said all the judges unanimously decided to dismiss the petitions and the probe.
The bench also dismissed a petition which demanded a First Information Report (FIR) be registered against the Rafale deal. The SC said, “We do not find it appropriate to consider passing order for registration of FIR.”
Ravi Shankar Prasad, a leader of the BJP, said the judgement of the SC pertaining to the Rafale deal recognises the decision making ability of the Modi Government.
The BJP also criticised Rahul Gandhi, the former President of the Indian National Congress (INC,) for turning the Rafale deal into a political issue during the elections and misleading the public.
Mr. Shankar Prasad also demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi and the INC.
With this, the SC concluded the years long Rafale deal case and gave a clean chit to the Modi Government.
Stay tuned for further updates.
