Centre submits Rafale deal details sans technical aspects to SC, next hearing fixed for Oct 29

New Delhi, Oct 27: The Union Government on Saturday (October 27) submitted the details of decision making process of the Rafale fighter jets purchase deal with France to the Supreme Court. The details were given in a sealed cover as specified by the apex court.

The submitted details are about the decision making process that was followed to purchase Rafale fighter aircrafts for the IAF. Technical details of the deal have been left out of the submission made today. The next date of hearing has been fixed for October 29.

On october 10, the Supreme Court sought details on the decision making process that resulted in the award of the Rafale Deal.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi had then said they are not on the suitability of the Rafale jets, but only on the decision making process. It further said that the information in this regard would be submitted in a sealed cover.

The court decided to seek details while hearing a fresh PIL against the Rafale deal between India and France . The petition sought information about the contract given to Reliance by Dassault.

The Bench said that it has not taken into account the allegations in the petitions. The court also said that the issue of pricing and suitability of the aircraft will not be covered in detail by it.

Advocate M L Sharma claimed in his plea that the inter-government agreement to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets must be quashed as it was an "outcome of corruption" and not ratified by Parliament under Article 253 (Parliament has power to make any law for implementing any inter-government agreement) of the Constitution. A similar plea was filed in the Supreme Court in March this year seeking an independent probe into the Rafale deal and disclosure of the cost involved in the deal before Parliament.

Rafale deal is a defence agreement signed between the governments of India and France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircrafts in a fly-away condition as a part of the upgrading process of Indian Air Force equipment. The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.