SC dismisses Rafale PILs with a note of caution, major relief to Modi govt

Kashmir Times. Dated: 12/15/2018 3:35:54 PM

NEW DELHI, Dec 14 (Agencies):The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed three PILs seeking a court-monitored inquiry into the acquisition of 36 Rafale MMRCA aircraft by the Narendra Modi government. The decision saw the top court’s refusal to probe the “the sensitive issue of purchase of 36 defence aircrafts by the Indian Government”. The bench has also refused to look into the commercial deal struck between Dassault—the maker of the fighter jets—and the Reliance ADAG.
The judgement is a major relief for the Modi government which is gearing up for re-election in a few months. An ongoing probe into a defence procurement would have created a major hurdle for the BJP in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The delivery of the first lot of defence jets are expected next year—a much needed procurement for the Indian Air Force, which has been awaiting induction of new fighter aircraft for several years. Part of the SC’s scrutiny of the material included an interaction with senior IAF officials. The judges had inquired about pricing, acquisition process and other technical details of the aircraft regarding at the time.
“Perception of individuals cannot be the basis of a fishing and roving enquiry by this court, especially in such matters,” the bench noted while dismissing the PILs.
The Supreme Court bench comprising CJI Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph has taken this view under Article 32, meaning PILs that may seek a probe into the acquisition, and not closed the door on any other kind of references, appeals or cases that may come up.
One petition was filed by former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, ex-lawmaker Arun Shourie and lawyer Prashant Bhushan. The second by lawyers ML Sharma and Vineet Dhanda and the third by AAP leader Sanjay Singh. The PILs were filed following media reports where former French President, Francoise Holland, was quoted as saying that the Indian government had pressurised the French government into accepting Reliance Defence as the Indian offset partner in the government-to-government deal.
There appears to be a word of caution to individual PIL activists that it may not necessarily review every act of the government that is perceived to have a taint. From the beginning of his tenure, CJI Gogoi has dissuaded PIL petitioners from mentioning matters at the top court for preferential hearing.
In January this year, Justice Gogoi was one of the four judges who had held a press conference against then CJI, Justice Dipak Misra. Recently, in an interview to Outlook, Justice Kurien Joseph went on record to say that ‘There was aa perception that he [Justice Misra] was not functioning independently’. The press conference led to yet another perception that as CJI, Justice Ranjan Gogoi would play an activist judge. In this battle of perceptions, today’s Rafale decision clarifies that Justice Gogoi is maintaining his independence from issues pressed by political quarters.

 

Video

The Gaza Crisis and the Global Fallout... Read More
 

FACEBOOK

 

Daily horoscope

 

Weather