Rafale case: Govt tells SC documents related to deal 'stolen' from defence ministry
PTI | Updated: Mar 6, 2019, 19:23 IST
Documents related to Rafale deal stolen from defence ministry, Centre tells SC
HIGHLIGHTS
The SC on Wednesday began hearing petitions seeking review of its verdict on Rafale deal.
The government told the SC that the Rafale documents have been stolen from the defence ministry.
The AG also submitted that the documents on the deal relied on by the petitioners were marked secret and classified.
NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that documents related to the Rafale aircraft deal have been "stolen" from the defence ministry and threatened The Hindu newspaper with the Official Secrets Act for publishing articles based on them.
The apex court has adjourned the hearing in the case to March 14.
Those who put documents on the Rafale deal in the public domain are guilty under the Official Secrets Act and contempt of court, attorney general K K Venugopal said before a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.
An investigation into the theft is on, the attorney general said on a day the newspaper published another article on the fighter jet deal.
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The bench, also including Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, was hearing a batch of petitions seeking a review of its December 14 verdict dismissing all the pleas against the deal procured by India from France.
Former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and advocate Prashant Bhushan, who had jointly filed a petition, alleged that the Centre suppressed crucial facts when the apex court decided to dismiss the batch of PILs against the Rafale deal in December.
When Bhushan referred to an article written by senior journalist N Ram in The Hindu, Venugopal said the write-ups were based on "stolen" documents.
An FIR has not been registered so far into the theft of documents pertaining to Rafale deal, he added.
He said the first write-up by Ram appeared in The Hindu on February 8 and Wednesday's edition had another article aimed at influencing the court's proceedings. This amounted to contempt of court, he said.
The newspaper published the documents by omitting the word 'secret' on top, he said, seeking a dismissal of the review petitions and raising objections to Bhushan's arguments based on the The Hindu's articles.
The bench sought to know from the Centre what it has done when it alleges that the stories are based on "stolen" material.
Advancing his arguments on behalf of Sinha, Shourie and himself, Bhushan said said the top court would not have dismissed the plea for an FIR and probe had critical facts not been suppressed.
Venugopal said the documents relied upon by Bhushan were "stolen" from the defence ministry and an investigation into the matter was under way.
At this point, the chief justice said hearing Bhushan did not mean the top court was taking on record the documents on the Rafale deal.
He also asked Venugopal to tell the court what action had been taken on theft of documents on the aircraft deal.
The AG submitted that the documents on the deal relied on by the petitioners were marked secret and classified and are therefore in violation of the Official Secrets Act.
The attorney general also told the Supreme Court that the Rafale case pertains to defence procurement which cannot be reviewed judicially.
Referring to the aerial combat with Pakistan last week, he said the country needs the Rafale jet to defend itself "from F-16 fighter planes that recently bombed us".
"Without Rafale how can we resist them," he said, adding that two squadrons of Rafale fighter jets are coming in flyaway condition. The first one will be inducted in September this year, Venugopal said.
Read this story in Marathi
In Video:Documents related to Rafale deal stolen from defence ministry, Centre tells SC
PTI | Updated: Mar 6, 2019, 19:23 IST
Documents related to Rafale deal stolen from defence ministry, Centre tells SC
HIGHLIGHTS
The SC on Wednesday began hearing petitions seeking review of its verdict on Rafale deal.
The government told the SC that the Rafale documents have been stolen from the defence ministry.
The AG also submitted that the documents on the deal relied on by the petitioners were marked secret and classified.
NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that documents related to the Rafale aircraft deal have been "stolen" from the defence ministry and threatened The Hindu newspaper with the Official Secrets Act for publishing articles based on them.
The apex court has adjourned the hearing in the case to March 14.
Those who put documents on the Rafale deal in the public domain are guilty under the Official Secrets Act and contempt of court, attorney general K K Venugopal said before a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.
An investigation into the theft is on, the attorney general said on a day the newspaper published another article on the fighter jet deal.
NEWS IN BRIEF
EXPLORE BRIEFS
Centre all set to give political, economic benefits to Bodos
The government of India is all set to sign an agreement with all factions of banned insurgent organisation National Democratic Front of Bodoland on Monday. The accord will give political and economic benefits to the Bodos. The government has also made it clear that the Centre would not make the state's Bodoland territorial district into a Union Territory.
'Internal matter': Govt slams anti-CAA resolution in EU Parliament
In a strong response to EU Parliament's draft resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the government on Sunday said that the matter is entirely internal to India. "EU Parliament should not take action that call into question rights and authority of democratically elected legislatures," sources said.
The bench, also including Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, was hearing a batch of petitions seeking a review of its December 14 verdict dismissing all the pleas against the deal procured by India from France.
Former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and advocate Prashant Bhushan, who had jointly filed a petition, alleged that the Centre suppressed crucial facts when the apex court decided to dismiss the batch of PILs against the Rafale deal in December.
When Bhushan referred to an article written by senior journalist N Ram in The Hindu, Venugopal said the write-ups were based on "stolen" documents.
An FIR has not been registered so far into the theft of documents pertaining to Rafale deal, he added.
He said the first write-up by Ram appeared in The Hindu on February 8 and Wednesday's edition had another article aimed at influencing the court's proceedings. This amounted to contempt of court, he said.
The newspaper published the documents by omitting the word 'secret' on top, he said, seeking a dismissal of the review petitions and raising objections to Bhushan's arguments based on the The Hindu's articles.
The bench sought to know from the Centre what it has done when it alleges that the stories are based on "stolen" material.
Advancing his arguments on behalf of Sinha, Shourie and himself, Bhushan said said the top court would not have dismissed the plea for an FIR and probe had critical facts not been suppressed.
Venugopal said the documents relied upon by Bhushan were "stolen" from the defence ministry and an investigation into the matter was under way.
At this point, the chief justice said hearing Bhushan did not mean the top court was taking on record the documents on the Rafale deal.
He also asked Venugopal to tell the court what action had been taken on theft of documents on the aircraft deal.
The AG submitted that the documents on the deal relied on by the petitioners were marked secret and classified and are therefore in violation of the Official Secrets Act.
The attorney general also told the Supreme Court that the Rafale case pertains to defence procurement which cannot be reviewed judicially.
Referring to the aerial combat with Pakistan last week, he said the country needs the Rafale jet to defend itself "from F-16 fighter planes that recently bombed us".
"Without Rafale how can we resist them," he said, adding that two squadrons of Rafale fighter jets are coming in flyaway condition. The first one will be inducted in September this year, Venugopal said.
Read this story in Marathi
In Video:Documents related to Rafale deal stolen from defence ministry, Centre tells SC
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