A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on November 14th, 2019 has given clean chit to the Narendra Modi government on allegations of irregularities in the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets by India from France. The op court dismissed the review petitions against the Rafale verdict, saying that they ‘lack merit’.

The bench said, “We don’t feel necessary to order FIR or roving inquiry into Rafale deal case.”

The top court, however, left the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) free to pursue any aspect of the deal if sufficient evidence comes to light. 

The petitioners – Union Minister Yashwant Sinha and renowned writer and economist Arun Shourie – had filed a review against the decision of the Apex Court, which held that no CBI inquiry was required to probe the inter-governmental deal for the procurement of Rafale jets.

The Congress has earlier raised an issue over Dassault partnering with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence, a private company instead of state-owned HAL. A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court seeking an independent probe into the decision to procure 36 Rafale jets and their cost.

In October 2019, India received the first Rafale jet in a ceremony in France attended by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Photo credit: Wikidepdia