Rafale case: Certain documents stolen from defence ministry, Attorney General tells Supreme Court

A sensational twist came up in the Rafale fighter jet case when Attorney General KK Venugopal told the Supreme Court in the review petition hearing on Wednesday that, “certain documents were stolen from the Defence Ministry either by public servants and an investigation is pending.

Rafale jet (Source: PTI)

Attorney General KK Venugopal told Supreme Court in the review petition hearing that, “certain documents were stolen from the Defence Ministry.

Attorney General KK Venugopal told the apex court that the matter was over defence purchases which involve security of the state. It is a very sensitive case.

The apex court said that it won't look into any supplementary affidavits or other documents not filed before it.

New Delhi: A sensational twist came up in the Rafale fighter jet case when Attorney General KK Venugopal told the Supreme Court in the review petition hearing on Wednesday that, “certain documents were stolen from the Defence Ministry either by public servants and an investigation is pending. The Supreme Court began hearing review petitions in connection with Rafale deal on Wednesday. The top court said that it won't look into any supplementary affidavits or other documents not filed before it. Attorney General KK Venugopal further added that we are dealing with defence purchases which involve security of the state. It is a very sensitive case.” Venugopal made the statement when Prashant Bhushan, one of the petitioners, tried to submit an eight-page note. At that point, the Attorney General objected to it and said that those note files were stolen from Defence Ministry and probe into that is underway. “This would be an offence under Official Secrets Act. Action might be taken against two newspapers which published. Action is also warranted against Senior counsel These are matters which involve the very security of the State,” Venugopal added. However, Bhushan said that critical material facts were suppressed from the court. “There are a large number of serious errors of fact which court relied upon for passing the judgment it did. Those facts were presumably supplied to the court by Centre in sealed cover notes,” Bhushan added. A day after the December verdict, the Centre had moved the top court seeking correction in the judgment where a reference was made about the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report and Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), saying "misinterpretation" of its note has "resulted in a controversy in the public domain". On December 14, 2018, the top court had dismissed various pleas challenging the deal for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets by India from France, saying that there was no occasion to "really doubt the decision-making process" warranting setting aside of the contract.

Published at : 06 Mar 2019 01:55 PM (IST)

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