A bench headed by Chief Justice U.U. Lalit and comprising Justice S. Ravindra Bhat told Sharma that the court was not inclined to entertain the plea. "No case is made out for interference of this court...," said the bench.
The BJP charge against the Congress party and its leaders came in the wake of reports appearing in the French web portal 'Mediapart' alleging that commissions were paid to the party and its leaders during the UPA regime.
'Will the government say if that obligation was fulfilled?' he asked
Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his 'courage and decisiveness', the minister said the Rafale jets were purchased only because the PM took the right decision to get them through an Inter-Governmental Agreement with France, after the long pending procurement case for them could not progress.
This is the first batch of 36 Rafale fighter jets for which India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France in 2016 for Rs 58,000 crore.
Opposition party members were heard saying 'Chowkidar chor hai' and were holding placards protesting against the defence deal in the Lok Sabha.
The note accessed is a shot in the arm for the Congress which has has been accusing massive irregularities in the deal, alleging that the government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA.
In the din and bustle of television debates on the Rafale deal and the removal of the CBI Director, Alok Varma, the nation was not adequately informed about the damage to the anti-corruption drive, most particularly when the BJP-led NDA government diluted the Prevention of Anti-Corruption Act, 1988 by repealing Section 13(1)(d), which deals with ‘abuse of public office‘. Another provision dealing with acquisition of disproportionate assets was diluted. The dilution of the anti-corruption law suits all political parties.
Gandhi who on Tuesday paid a personal visit to Parrikar had said that the Goa chief minister had nothing to do with the new Rafale deal that was finalized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Congress and Rahul Gandhi have been pressing for a JPC probe in the Rafale deal.
