Demand to recall SC verdict on Rafale deal as govt seeks “error correction”

[Prime Minister Modi with Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and other judges after a dinner hosted by the latter about a week ago. (File photo)]

New Delhi: Amidst the Modi government’s decision to approach the Supreme Court of India seeking “correction of errors” in its verdict regarding Rafale fighter aircrafts citing “interpretational” and “typing mistakes”, senior lawyer and former Additional Solicitor General of India Indira Jaising said the verdict is void and should be altogether recalled.

Indira Jaising, in a series of tweets posted Saturday evening, said that “a judgement based on non-existent facts is no judgement in the eye of law”.

In the judgement pronounced on Friday the Supreme Court said: The pricing details have, however, been shared with Comptroller and Auditor General, and the report of the CAG has been examined by the Public Accounts Committee. Only a redacted portion of the report was placed before the Parliament and is in public domain.”

However, it was later turned out that no such report existed and this was highlighted by Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi Friday evening itself.

“As per the Govt’s statement in the SC, pricing details have been shared with CAG and with the Public Accounts Committee. Mr. Kharge is chairman of PAC and he says, no such report regarding pricing was submitted”, he said.

“I do not understand how the Supreme Court judgement was based on a falsehood. Now the govt should answer where this CAG report is. ₹30,000Cr of public money is at stake. Chowkidar Chor Hai”, Rahul said.

Congress leader in Lok Sabha and Chairman of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Mallikarjun Kharge also denied existence of any CAG report on Rafale deal.

“If a report is submitted to PAC, then it must submit it to the Parliament and then put in the public domain, which has not happened”, he said.

In a damage control after uproar, Modi government reached the Supreme Court with an affidavit citing “misinterpretation” and “typing error” in the documents it had submitted in a sealed cover.

The affidavit, a copy of which was also sent to each of the petitioners, claimed that the “error” appeared to have occurred “perhaps on account of misinterpretation of a couple of sentences in a note handed over to this Hon’ble Court in a sealed cover”. The court had misinterpreted the usage of tenses, the government said.

The SC judgment read:

The pricing details have, however, been shared with the Comptroller and Auditor General (hereinafter referred to as“CAG”), and the report of the CAG has been examined by the Public Accounts Committee (hereafter referred to as “PAC”). Only a redacted portion of the report was placed before the Parliament, and is in public domain.

The government claimed that in the sealed cover, it had stated:

The Government has already shared the pricing details with the CAG. The report of the CAG is examined by the PAC. Only a redacted version of the report is placed before the Parliament and in public domain.”

Indira Jaising’s posts came soon after the Modi government filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying, “The Attorney General has just knocked the bottom off the judgement, a judgement based on incorrect facts whether it is a so called misrepresentation or so called misunderstanding is a void judgement , the whole judgement goes.”

“The Judgment of the Supreme Court in #Rafaledeal is null and void. It must be recalled. It is based on the reasoning that CAG submitted the report which was examined by PAC. Since no such report exists, the reasoning goes, it is no judgment in the eyes of law”, she added.

“This is not about grammar, it is about a void judgement regardless of who misled whom, it is based on non existent facts. It has to be recalled”, she said.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma also urged the Supreme Court of India Sunday to recall its Rafale judgement and issue contempt of court and perjury notices to the government, alleging the Centre had provided false information to the apex court.

Sharma alleged that the government was guilty of committing breach of privilege of both Houses of Parliament by claiming that the CAG report on Rafale pricing had been presented to the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.

For all the latest News, Opinions and Views, download ummid.com App.

Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic.