[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Rafale deal was announced first and negotiated later, going by Centre’s submission in the Supreme Court today (Monday, November 12).

India negotiated the deal for purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft from France for a year before signing the agreement, said the Centre in the documents submitted to the Supreme Court today.

A redacted version of the documents was provided to petitioners who have challenged the deal alleging corruption. The matter would come up for hearing on Wednesday, November 14.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the Rafale deal to purchase 36 aircraft in Paris on April 10, 2015, junking the previous deal for purchase of 126 aircraft that was being negotiated. The deal announced by Modi was officially signed on September 26, 2017.

The document titled “Details of the steps in the decision making process leading to the award of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft order” stated that the process as laid down in the Defence Procurement Procedure-2013 has been followed in procurement of the Rafale aircraft.

The document claims that approval of Defence Acquisition Council and the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) was also taken before signing the agreement.

The Centre also revealed price details of Rafale fighter jets in sealed document — titled “Details of the steps in the decision making process leading to the award of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft order” — to the top court. It had on October 31 claimed privilege on it and SC had asked it to file an affidavit why it cannot reveal Rafale jet prices.

When asked about it, Centre’s counsel said the government has nothing to hide and hence it was decided that Rafale prices could be revealed only for Judges of SC, which is hearing three PILs alleging scam in fighter jet purchase deal.

Centre said Rafale manufacturer Dassault or its weapon vendor is yet to submit a formal proposal in the prescribed manner indicating details of Indian offset partners and products for offset discharge.

This means Dassault has not yet formally conveyed to Centre the role of Reliance Defence as its Indian offset partner. Centre said that till Oct 2019 no offset partner can get any money under agreement from India.

The government also submitted the details of the agreement relating to induction of Indian offset partners by Dassault and the company fitting weapons to the aircraft.

The government submitted the document to petitioners as per Supreme Court direction on details of the decision taken to procure the fighter aircraft.

The document was supplied to the petitioners as per the apex court’s October 31 order.

The top court had said details, including the steps in the decision making process for the procurement of jets, which could “legitimately” be brought into public domain, be made available to the parties who have filed petitions before it in the matter.

It had also asked the Centre to place before it in a sealed cover within 10 days the pricing details of 36 Rafale fighter jets India is buying from France.

The apex court, which had posted the matter for hearing on November 14, had categorically told the Centre that if the pricing detail was “exclusive” and could not be shared with the court, then the Centre should file an affidavit saying so.

The petitions seeking the probe in the Rafale deal were first filed by advocates Manohar Lal Sharma and Vineet Dhanda. Later, AAP MP Sanjay Singh had also filed the petition. Former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan also filed a joint petition.

The two former union ministers and Bhushan have sought registration of an FIR into the fighter jet deal between India and France alleging “criminal misconduct” by high public functionaries. The trio has also sought a direction to the CBI to investigate the offences mentioned in their complaint in a “time-bound” manner and submit periodic status reports to the apex court.

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India signed an agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in a fly-away condition as part of the upgrading process of the Indian Air Force equipment. The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation. The Indian Air Force had advanced a proposal to buy 126 fighter aircraft in August 2007 and floated a tender. Following this, an invitation was sent to various aviation companies to participate in the bidding process.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]