SC defers hearing PIL for probing PM over Rafale deal

The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred hearing on a PIL seeking probe against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others for entering the Rafale fighter jet deal with France.

A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, Navin Sinha and K M Joseph put the plea for consideration on October 10 as petitioner M L Sharma also sought time to file additional documents.

As the bench took up the matter, the advocate sought adjournment and a permission to file some more documents.

“You yourself circulated a letter seeking adjournment on the ground of ill health. Now you are saying that you want to file additional documents. We are simply adjourning the matter to October 10,” the bench said.

In his petition, Sharma has claimed discrepancies in the fighter jet deal with France and sought a stay on it.

He sought quashing of the inter-government agreement to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets claiming that it was an "outcome of corruption" and not ratified by Parliament under Article 253 (Parliament has power to make any law for implementing any inter-government agreement) of the Constitution.

The petition has also sought recovery of the amount along with lodging of an FIR and prosecution of Prime Minister Modi, former defence Minister and present Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, business tycoon Anil Ambani and French armament firm Dassault.

A similar plea was filed by Congress sympathsier Tehseen Poonawalla in the apex court in March this year seeking an independent probe into the Rafale deal and disclosure of its cost before the Parliament.