Rafale Deal row: 'How was Rafale decision made?' Asks Supreme Court to Union of India

In a major development in Rafale Deal, the Superme Court asked Centre to give a report on the process of decision of the deal. 'How was Rafale decision made?' Asks Supreme Court seeking report in to decision-making process on the Rafale fighter jet deal in a sealed cover.

"We are not issuing notice to the government. We make it clear that the court hasn't bought into the arguments made by the petitioner. Their arguments are grossly inadequate," the apex court said, asserting that it would not go into the pricing or suitability of the Rafale jets.

"We want to satisfy ourselves on the steps taken in the decision-making. We are not going into the issue of suitability keeping in mind the sensitivity of the issue," said a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

However, Petitioner ML Sharma argued that there was corruption in the Rs. 59,000 crore in the deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets from France's Dassault.

Attorney General KK Venugopal told the court that "National security is involved and the court is being used on the eve of polls to gain politically in the bitter fight between the government and the opposition."

The Rafale deal was announced in 2016 by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then French president Francois Hollande.

The governor's lawyer called the petition "politically motivated".

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