The Supreme Court on September 5th, 2018 agreed to hear next week a plea seeking a stay on the Rafale fighter jet deal between India and France.
The decision was taken by a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud after submissions were made by Advocate M L Sharma that his plea be listed for urgent hearing.
In his petition, Advocate Sharma seeking a stay on the inter-government agreement to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets has alleged that the deal is an “outcome of corruption” and that it has not been ratified by Parliament under Article 253 (Parliament has the power to make any law for implementing any inter-government agreement) of the Constitution of India.
The petition has also sought FIR and prosecution of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Defence Minister and present Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, business tycoon Anil Ambani and French armament firm Dassault with the recovery of the amount.
Earlier, in March this year, a similar plea was filed in the apex court by Congress leader Tehseen S Poonawalla seeking an independent probe into the Rafale deal and disclosure of the cost involved in the deal before Parliament.
Rafale deal is a defence agreement signed between the governments of India and France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircrafts in a fly-away condition as a part of the upgrading process of Indian Air Force equipment.
The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.
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