New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed six petitions seeking a Special Investigation Team probe into the Rafale deal, which had alleged irregularities and large scale corruption.

The pleas were filed by lawyers, Manohar Lal Sharma, Vineet Dhanda, former Union Minister, Arun Shourie, ex-Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Yashwant Sinha and Aam Aadmi Party MP, Sanjay Singh.

“We are dismissing all the petitions. We are also not inclined for a SIT probe in the case,” ruled the three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.

“We find no reason for any intervention by this court on the issue of purchase of 36 fighter aircraft by the Indian government. We also did not find any wrong in selection of Indian offset partner by Dassault, the French company,’ the apex court ruled.

“Perception of individuals cannot be the basis of a fishing and roving enquiry by this court, especially in such matters. We thus dismiss all the writ petitions,” the bench ruled.

Also comprising Justices KM Jospeh and Sanjay Kishan Kaul, the bench said in their 29-page verdict, that once again, it is neither appropriate nor within the experience of this court to step into this arena of what is technically feasible.

Due process followed

The Supreme Court said, ‘We have studied the material carefully. We have also had the benefit of interacting with senior Air Force Officers who answered Court queries in respect of different aspects, including that of the acquisition process and pricing.

“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,” the Supreme Court held.

‘The due process have been followed. The need for the aircrafts is not in doubt. The quality of the aircraft is not in question,’ the apex court ruled.

“Our country cannot afford to be unprepared or underprepared in a situation where our adversaries are stated to have acquired not only fourth, but even fifth generation aircrafts, of which, we have none.”

‘Truth always triumphs’, said Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah, welcoming the court ruling.

Rahul owes answer to nation for raking up Rafale deal as a controversy: Jaitley

The Government on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court order on Rafale deal and said Congress president Rahul Gandhi owes an answer to the nation as to why the erstwhile UPA regime “virtually abandoned” the proposed deal with France for procuring the combat aircraft.

“Somebody has to answer a question that after shortlisting this purchase both in terms of quality and cost, why was
it virtually abandoned in 2012,” Finance Minster and BJP leader Arun Jaitley told a press conference in presence of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman after the Supreme Court gave its ruling rejecting all six writ petitions on the Rafale Deal.

“Why was the national security compromised… why was the need of the Air Force compromised,” he said and alleged that the Congress leadership has indulged in “fiction writing” that also compromised the national security of the country.
Mr Jaitley, also a former Defence Minister, said the Congress has written all fiction and “in that entire imaginary thought-process, one man has decided there was no committee to look into its pricing, its negotiations, its drafting and all”.

The Minister said the combat aircraft deal with France inked by the Narendra Modi government has “protected both security and commercial interests of India. Security interest because it increases combat ability of India, commercial interest because the final price was significantly lower both for aircraft and weaponised aircraft than what was negotiated during the UPA regime in 2007 and 2012”.

“It appears there was a fiction writing on the national security,” he added.

The Minister said the democratic world has a tradition wherein any public leader found spreading falsehood could be “impeached” or forced to resign. “So we will at least expect that in both Houses of Parliament, Congress should agree for a debate… and those who created this smoke of falsehood should place the truth.”

He said the manner in which the Congress leadership raked up the Rafale row, in future the senior bureaucrats and “officers in the forces” would be cautious to take up major works related to defence preparedness.

Dismissing the Congress’ charges, he said the entire process was followed and the matters were cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security. “The Court has also said the entire process was correct.”

“All the figures by the government are correct and all the figures by Mr Rahul Gandhi are false and I have justified it. The truth has only one version and falsehood has many. That is why Mr Rahul Gandhi quoted several figures,” he added.
Answering questions, Mr Jaitley said there was no tardiness on the part of the government in taking decisions related to national security and national preparedness.

To a specific question why the Narendra Modi government opted for 36 against 126 aircraft as was proposed initially, Mr Jaitley said the government was concerned about immediate procurement of two squadron aircraft at the earliest.
The Finance Minister said, “Till yesterday, the Congress was insisting for the JPC and now we have asked Congress today to agree for debate in Parliament.”

Earlier in the day, BJP chief Amit Shah also challenged Congress for a discussion on Rafale in both the Houses of Parliament.

The Defence Minister said as against one squadron as was proposed by the UPA regime, the NDA government decided to go for two squadron and insisted that “rest (of the 126)” will be produced under the “strategic partnership programme”.
“So, we have not forgotten the rest,” she told in reply to a query.

The Supreme Court earlier in day dismissed six petitions seeking a Special Investigation Team probe into the Rafale deal, which had alleged irregularities and large scale corruption.

“We are dismissing all the petitions. We are also not inclined for a SIT probe in the case,” ruled the three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.

“We find no reason for any intervention by this court on the issue of purchase of 36 fighter aircraft by the Indian government. We also did not find any wrong in selection of Indian offset partner by Dassault, the French company,’ the apex court ruled.

SC verdict on Rafale, a ‘slap’ on Congress president’s face: Amit Shah

‘Truth always triumphs’, said BJP chief Amit Shah on Friday welcoming the Supreme Court ruling on Rafale aircraft deal and maintained the verdict was a slap on the face of those who indulged in the politics of falsehood.

Addressing a press conference shortly after the news on the verdict went viral on social network and Television channels, Mr Shah said, ‘The verdict is a slap on the face of those who used the Rafale issue to garner immediate political benefits and this also shows that falsehood cannot win the race in the long run and it is the truth that will always triumph.’

Mr Shah dared Congress for a debate in Parliament and also wanted to know the sources of information based on which its president Rahul Gandhi went all over the country claiming about the so-called allegation.
‘I would like to ask Rahul Gandhi to present the source of your information into the Rafale deal, on the basis of which you have levied such allegations,’ he said, adding at the same time when the case was being fought in the court did not provide any additional information on the matter.

He said essentially, the issues concerning offset partner (Reliance Defence) were questioned and the three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi made it clear that there was no error in the decision making process and the plea to set aside the decision to go for the pact was rejected outright.

Answering questions, the BJP chief indicated that the ruling dispensation could be ready for a detailed debate on the deal in Parliament.

‘JPC is formed only when there is a discussion in the Parliament, I challenge Congress for a discussion on Rafale Deal,’ he said in reference to Congress insisting for a parliamentary probe after the court verdict.

‘If Congress had all the proof then why did they not go to the Supreme Court with it?,’ he said and making a veiled attack on the petitioners and lawyers on the case, Mr Shah said the ‘Congress B’ team was already fighting the case in the court.

Mocking at Congress president for his continuous use of the phrase ‘chowkidaar chor hai’, he said today it is proved that people who shout thief are actually scared of the ‘responsible guard’.

Mr Shah said the court has also taken cognisance of the fact that while the neighbouring countries were marching ahead with their defence preparedness, some elements in the country were bent upon stalling India’s own journey to update defence needs.

‘By trying to stop the procedure to buy the aircraft, Rahul Gandhi had put the security of country in danger,’ he alleged and said the Congress president should apologize to the nation for misleading people.
He said the verdict makes it clear that those who attacked the deal with France, had ‘motives’ to discredit the pact which is ‘important for India’.

‘… Supreme Court held that govt had no role in selecting offset partners & found no merit in the demand for a probe based on mere perception of individuals. It therefore raises obvious questions on the motive of those working to discredit the deal, which is important for India,’ Mr Shah tweeted earlier.

‘Court’s judgment on the Rafale deal exposes the campaign of misinformation spearheaded by Congress President for political gains. The court didn’t find anything wrong with the process nor did it find any commercial favouritism in the deal,’ Mr Shah wrote on micro-blogging site.

The issue prominently in both the Houses of Parliament with the BJP members insisting for an apology from Congress president Rahul Gandhi for ‘misleading the nation’ and for raking up the issue only for electoral gains.
In the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Rajnath Singh led the charge in attacking the Congress, and demanded that Mr Gandhi tender an apology to the House and the nation.

‘They have misled the country and also presented India in poor light across the globe. That is why I want to emphasise that Congress president Rahul Gandhi should tender an apology to the House and the nation,’ Mr Singh said making a brief intervention amid uproarious scenes and slogan shouting.

Yogi seeks apology from Rahul over Rafale

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, claiming that BJP has always respected the Constitutional institution, has demanded that Congress president Rahul Gandh should tender an unconditional apology to the people and defence personal on his statement on Rafale aircraft issue and sought to know the source of his information to malign the image of the BJP and the Central government.

“Congress as the oldest political party of the country had failed to perform its duty and had threatened the country’s security and integrity by questioning on the Rafale deal, which was started by them but later shelved it as they could not find any broker,” the CM alleged.

He also asked the Congress why it had delayed the Rafale deal during its tenure between 2007 to 2014. “Was the party in power searching for the brokers like they did during the past defence deals,” he asked the Congress.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday, Yogi Adityanath said Rahul Gandhi should also disclose the source of his information on Rafale as it seems that his statements against the government was an effort to weaken the country’s security system when the neighboring countries were equipped with latest aircraft and other defence technology.

On the occasion, the UP CM also suggested to the judiciary not to entertain frivolous Public Interest Petition (PIL) which can affect the security and integrity of the country besides these PILs were filed just to get political mileage and to defame the governments.

The CM welcomed the decision of Supreme Court for rejecting all the petitions filed against the Rafale aircraft deal and claimed that the judiciary has given its verdict that nothing was wrong in the Rafale deal.

“The false propaganda of the Congress has come into the fore by the verdict of the apex court,” Yogi commented adding that Congress defamed the Central government and the BJP for taking political mileage.

Rafale deal: Ambani says SC verdict proves falsity of allegations against him

Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani on Friday hailed the Supreme Court order on Rafale deal saying the verdict established complete “falsity of wild, baseless and politically motivated allegations” against him and his company.

Mr Ambani said, “I welcome the judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court summarily dismissing PILs filed on Rafale contracts, and conclusively establishing complete falsity of wild, baseless and politically motivated allegations levelled against Reliance Group and me personally.”

Mr Ambani said in a brief statement that the Reliance Group was committed to India’s national security and sovereignty.

“We remain committed to India’s national security and to making our humble contribution towards the Make in India and Skill India policies of the Government in the critical area of defence, including our offset partnership agreement with our valued partner, Dassault Aviation of France.”

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court dismissed all the six writ petitions seeking a court-monitored investigation into the Rafale deal.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, said that it did not find any substantial element to show that there is any “substantial favouritism” in the deal.

‘It is not the job of this court to go into the differential pricing details, which must be kept confidential,’ it ruled.

The government had questioned the court’s expertise to review the Rs 59,000-crore deal for 36 planes with French firm Dassault.

Dassault welcomes SC Court verdict

New Delhi/Paris, Dec 15 (UNI) The Rafale combat aircraft maker Dassault Aviation has welcomed the the Supreme Court verdict on the deal dismissing all petitions filed on the Rafale Contract inked on September 23, 2016 in the frame of an Inter-Governmental Agreement between India and France.

“Dassault Aviation takes note of the Supreme Court conclusions establishing the absence of any irregularities in the decision making process to purchase 36 Rafale, pricing of Rafale jets and selection of Indian offset partners including Anil Ambani owned Reliance Defence by Dassault Aviation,” a company statement said from its headquarters at Saint Cloud, a suburb near Paris.
“Dassault Aviation is dedicated to establishing successfully the Make in India as promoted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” it said adding the company will ensure successful production in the country through the Dassault Reliance Joint Venture in Nagpur as well as through a full-fledged supply chain network involving already 30 companies.
It said the Dassault Aviation has proudly supported the needs of the Government of India and the Indian Air Force “since 1953 and the induction of the Toofani aircraft”.

“Fully committed in a strong relationship of mutual trust with India for over 65 years now, all resources of Dassault Aviation are entirely mobilized to make the Rafale, chosen by India in 2012 following a very complete competitive bidding process and evaluation, the spearhead of the Indian Air Force,” it said.

“The deal is absolutely clean in accordance with Indian laws and regulations, as I have stated before, and the first Falcon part is currently under delivery out of our facility in Nagpur” stated Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation.

The Dassault Aviation aircraft have been an integral part of Indian defence forces for over six decades.
The first Dassault Aviation aircraft, Toofani was supplied to India in 1953, followed by the Mystere IV, the naval Alize, the Jaguar (manufactured under license by HAL) and the Mirage 2000.

These aircraft have contributed to Indian sovereignty all along and the Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft continues to be the IAF’s “cutting edge” till date, the Rafale aircraft makers said.

Update on 15th December

Rafale deal: Present becomes past, Centre corrects itself in apex court

New Delhi:The Centre, through the Ministry of Defence, on Saturday moved an application for correcting yesterday’s Supreme Court judgment on the Rafale deal case which had absolved the Narendra Modi-led government.

Union of India, in its application, said that its use of ‘is’ in the sealed cover submitted to the apex court had become ‘was’ in the judgment. The CAG ‘is’ to submit its report to the Public Accounts Committee & then the redacted part is put in public domain.

The Centre would mention their ‘correction’ application over the Rafale case before the Chief Justice of India bench in the apex court on January 2, next year, when the Supreme Court reopens after winter vacation.