Centre seeks time to file fresh affidavit in Rafale review

New Delhi, Apr 29: The Centre on Monday asked the Supreme Court to defer the Rafale review hearing listed for Tuesday, saying it needs more time to file its affidavit.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, however, allowed the Centre's counsel to circulate a letter for adjournment in Tuesday's hearing among all the parties in the case, including the petitioners who filed the review pleas.

On April 10, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the Centre's objections to the review petitions seeking an inquiry into the Rafale fighter jet deal. In March, the government had asked for the review pleas to be dismissed, claiming they were based on "secret files" accessed from the Defence Ministry.

In March, the government had asked for the review pleas to be dismissed, claiming they were based on "secret files" accessed from the Defence Ministry.

The plea filed by former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, journalist Arun Shourie and lawyer Prashant Bhushan sought the recall and review of December 2018 judgment giving clean chit to the central government in the Defence deal.