New Delhi: In a major relief to the Modi government, the Supreme Court Friday said it was “satisfied” with the decision making process in concluding the Rafale fighter jet deal and rejected demands for a probe, sparking bitter exchanges between the BJP and the Congress.
The verdict by the apex court that it found no reason to intervene on what it called the “sensitive issue” of purchase of 36 jets from France came as a political victory for the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Modi had come in for a relentless attack from Congress President Rahul Gandhi who alleged corruption in procurement of the fighter jets for the IAF from French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, calling it a scam which allegedly benefitted industrialist Anil Ambani.
BJP president Amit Shah launched a blistering attack on the Congress and demanded an apology from Mr Gandhi. However, Mr Gandhi maintained that corruption had taken place in the contract which he asserted will be proved by his party and claimed that the basis of the court judgement is a CAG report that has neither been seen by anyone, nor shared with Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.
Holding it did not find any substantial material on record to show there was “commercial favou-ritism” to any party by the Indian Government in choosing an offset partner, a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said perception of individuals cannot be the basis of a “fishing and roving enquiry” by the court.
“We are satisfied that there is no occasion to really doubt the process, and even if minor deviations have occurred, that would not result in either setting aside the contract or requiring a detailed scrutiny by the court,” it ruled. The court noted that the petitions were filed after reported statement of Hollande with regard to selection of Indian offset partners after he demitted office.
The bench said it was “certainly not the job of this court to carry out a comparison of the pricing details in matters like the present” and the material has to be kept in a confidential domain.
