The court had quashed the petitions seeking probe into the deal.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan and former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie on Friday held a press conference over the Supreme Court order on Rafale deal. They said that the CBI must register an FIR in the Rafale deal. The Supreme Court Thursday dismissed petitions seeking review of its December 14, 2018 decision to reject a plea for a court-monitored probe into India’s purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft from France.
The bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi rejected attempts by petitioners, former Union Ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and advocate Prashant Bhushan, to rely on additional documents related to the deal which were published by The Hindu and subsequently carried by news agency ANI.
WATCH | Explained: The Rafale Deal Controversy
One of the 36 Rafale jet aircraft received by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at Bordeaux in France in October. (PTI/File)
The CBI must register an FIR in the Rafale deal, lawyer Prashant Bhushan and former BJP leader Arun Shourie said on Friday, a day after the Supreme Court gave the government a clean chit in the fighter-jet agreement. The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected pleas, including one by Bhushan, Shourie and former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, for a review of its judgement that gave a clean chit to the Modi government on the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France. It also said there is no ground to order an FIR by the CBI or a roving inquiry into allegations of irregularities in the controversial deal. Bhushan said it is binding on the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe their complaint despite the ruling by the three-judge apex court bench. If the CBI fails to do so, it will again approach the Supreme Court, Bhushan told reporters at a press conference also addressed by Shourie. Sinha was not there. PTI
Arun Shourie, Yashwant Sinha& I are having a Press Conference on the Rafale review judgement at 3 pm at the Press Club today. Since PC Act has been amended to req govt permission for Investigation, we are also asking the CBI Dir to seek it. Why should govt shy away if it's clean?
In the order, the SC had dismissed two petitions — one filed by former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and advocate Prashant Bhushan, and the other by AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh — seeking a court-monitored investigation into the India-France deal for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft.