Centre seeks more time to reply, SC adjourns Rafale hearing to May 6

New Delhi, Apr 30: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre to file its reply on the Rafale review petition by Saturday and fixed the hearing for May 6.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Sanjay Kaul and K M Joseph gave the direction after the Centre sought adjournment of hearing in the Rafale review petitions.

The Attorney General though said the Centre needed at least four weeks to file reply to the new documents filed by the petitioners.

The bench had on December 14 dismissed petitions which sought a court-monitored probe into the deal for the purchase of 36 Rafale jets from France. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph is hearing a clutch of review petitions - including one by former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan against its verdict.

On April 10, the court had rejected the Centre's preliminary objections to the admissibility of certain documents, which were published by The Hindu newspaper regarding the deal.

The court will hear arguments on whether these documents raise any doubts about the deal for the purchase of the 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.