A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices U U Lalit and K M Joseph also asked the Centre to share information which can be brought in the public domain with the petitioners.
When the hearing begin, the SC asked the Centre to give pricing and strategic details of the Rafale fighter aircraft in a sealed cover in 10 days.
However, when attorney general K K Venugopal said that most details about Rafale jets, including its pricing, would be covered under the Official secrets Act and it would not be possible for the government to share it with anyone, the SC bench said: "if the government feels the pricing of Rafale jet can't be shared even in sealed cover with the court, then let it file an affidavit to that effect."
The SC, however, made it clear that it doesn't want technical details pertaining to Rafale deal. "In none of the PILs, suitability and technical aspects of Rafale deal have been challenged," the SC bench observed.
When petitioner Prashant Bhushan said there should be a court-monitored CBI probe into the deals, the SC said "that can wait".
When Bhushan pressed further for a court-monitored CBI probe, CJI Gogoi said "let CBI put its house in order first."
from Times of India https://ift.tt/2EUB3E2
