Narendra Modi named as first respondent in PIL against Rafale deal: Supreme Court to hear plea next week

The Supreme Court has agreed to list the petition filed by lawyer Manohar Lal Sharma seeking a stay on the India-France Rafale fighter jet deal, reports have said.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud considered the submissions of Advocate ML Sharma that his plea be listed for urgent hearing. According to reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been named as the first respondent in the petition.

In his PIL, Sharma alleged discrepancies in the fighter jet deal with France and sought a stay on it.

As the heat is on #Rafale and the cabinet briefing has been hurriedly called for at 8.30, this is how the #PIL against #Rafale deal is listed in the #SupremeCourt. The #PrimeMinister has been named personally as the first respondent. pic.twitter.com/UEyPR81EPC

— Utkarsh Anand (@utkarsh_aanand) September 5, 2018

According to CNN-News18, the petition alleges that the agreement between India and France for the Rafale fighter jets involved corruption and the cancellation of the older tender without reason and the new deal not being approved by Parliament, suggests conspiracy. The petition seeks an inquiry by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) monitored by the Supreme Court. The petition also seeks that till the completion of investigation by the SIT, the agreement be rejected.

The Opposition has dubbed the fighter jet deal between India and France as the ‘Rafale Scam’ and has demanded a joint parliamentary probe to investigate the agreement. The Congress and BJP have been waging a war words over the deal.

In April 2015, Narendra Modi had announced emergency ‘off-the-shelf’ purchase of 36 Rafale jets in Paris for Rs 1,670.7 crore per aircraft.

With inputs from PTI.