The Supreme Court has dismissed review petitions seeking an investigation into the alleged irregularities into the Rs. 58,000 crore Rafale deal with French firm Dassault Aviation and giving the government a clean chit. "We don't feel it necessary to order an FIR or a roving inquiry into the Rafale deal case," a bench comprising outgoing Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, said while dismissing the petitions.
On May 10, the Supreme Court had reserved the decision on the petitions, including one by former union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie, along with activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan, seeking a re-examination of its findings that there was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets. The petitioners claimed that the verdict was based on "multiple falsehoods and suppression of material and relevant information".
The court also let off Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a contempt case filed against him for wrongly attributing to the top court his "chowkidar chor hai" remark in Rafale case against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rahul Gandhi had made the remarks on April 10, the day the top court had dismissed the Centre's preliminary objections over admissibility of certain documents for supporting the review petitions against the December 14 last year verdict in the Rafale case. Mr Gandhi, who was then the President of the Congress Party, had told the bench that he has already offered an unconditional apology for wrongly attributing the remarks relating to the Prime Minister to the top court.
Pointing to Mr Gandhi's "Chowkidar chor hai" slogan ahead of the Lok Sabha election, senior BJP leader and union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Congress leader has not only called the Prime Minister a thief, but he lied about the former French Prime Minister's statements and misquoted the Supreme Court.
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Truth Has Triumphed: BJP After Rafale Verdict
- It is indeed the lowest point of political discourse that Mr. Rahul Gandhi, then President of Congress party, stooped to the shameful extent of misquoting the Supreme Court.
- Congress and Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the country.
- Supreme court has always maintained that there is no doubt regarding the quality of Rafale jets.
The allegation of corruption in Rafale deal was nothing but an attempt to malign the clean & honest image of PM Modi & his Govt.
- Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) November 14, 2019
The people of India will not forgive the Congress for their slanderous campaign and calumny. The Congress should apologise for misleading the people.
