Stay on Rafale deal: SC to hear plea on October 10

New Delhi, Sep 18: The Supreme Court will hear on October 10 a petition that sought a stay on the Rafale deal. The Bench on Tuesday was approached by the petitioner-advocate M L Sharma seeking an adjournment.

He said that he was unwell and hence the case be heard on October 5. Justice Ranjan Gogoi told Sharma, ' you circulated a letter for adjournment. You missed the bus, the matter will be heard on October 10.'

Rafale deal is a defence agreement signed between the governments of India and France to purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircrafts in fly-away condition as a part of upgrading process of Indian Air Force equipment.

Rafale fighter aircraft is a twin-engine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) is manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.

Indian Air Force had advanced a proposal to buy 126 fighter aircraft in August 2007 and floated a tender and an invitation was sent to various aviation companies to participate for the bidding process.