Submit details of rafale decisions in a sealed cover: SC to Centre

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to submit “details of the decision-making process” in the Rafale deal in a sealed cover by October 29. They don’t have to include issues related to pricing or suitability of the fighter jet.

A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KM Joseph did not issue notices to the government on PILs filed by lawyers Manoharlal Sharma and Vineet Dhanda, saying it wanted to see details of the deal for itself first.

“No notice! However, we would like to be apprised of the details of the process leading to the award of the defence equipment, i.e. Rafale,” the CJI said in his short order. The court made it clear that in passing the order was to “satisfy ourselves”.


“The steps in the decision-making process would not cover pricing or suitability for the IAF which is of a sensitive nature,” the CJI said. The case was listed for further hearing on October 31.

The order came despite the attorney general resisting any such suggestion.

The A-G said the issue involved national security. “The petition intends to use the court to drive elections. This is not a PIL, it is political. It is intended to achieve political ends driving the bitter fight with the opposition,” he said.

In any case it was not a judicially reviewable matter as it involved an international treaty, he said.

When the bench sought to know his views on submitting the information related to the deal to the judges in a sealed cover without giving out information about the technology, he said: “This has already been given to Parliament.” The AG also said a defence purchase protocol was already in place. But the bench still went ahead and demanded the information in a sealed cover.