SC's order dated 10 April 2019 on 36 Rafale Procurement Case

In the Review Petitions, the petitioners have relied upon the documents, some of which could not have been placed in public domain. The Central Government raised an objection that while considering Review Petitions, the said documents may not be considered as they are classified.

In the Order passed by the Supreme Court today, the Court has decided to look into the documents also while deciding the Review Petitions. The Review Petitions are pending and are yet to be heard.

The Supreme Court by a well-reasoned judgement and order dated 14 December 2018 had already dismissed the Writ Petitions.

It is reiterated that the petitioners are using documents with the intention to present a selective and incomplete picture of internal secret deliberations on a matter relating to National Security and Defence. The documents presented by the petitioners are failing to bring out how the issues were addressed and resolved and necessary approvals of the competent authorities taken. These are selective and incomplete presentation of the facts and records by the petitioners.

Government had provided the requisite information as desired by the Hon’ble Supreme Court to the Court and also to the petitioners as per directions of the Court and in the manner prescribed by the Court. Government also provided all records and files as required by CAG. The main concern of the Government is relating to availability of sensitive and classified information concerning National Security in the public domain.