Hyderabad: The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce on Thursday its verdict on petitions seeking a review of its judgement giving a clean chit to the central government in the Rafale fighter jet deal with French firm Dassault Aviation.
The petitioners claimed that the facts and documents of the greatest significance, which have an overarching bearing on the matter that the top court was considering, and which were available with the central government were suppressed from the court.
Earlier on May 10, the apex court had reserved the decision on the pleas, including the one filed by former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie, and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan, seeking a re-examination of its findings that there was "no occasion" to doubt the decision-making process in the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph is likely to pronounce verdicts on three review petitions filed by the trio, lawyer Vineet Dhandha, and Aam Aadmi Party lawmaker Sanjay Singh.
On December 14, 2018, the apex court dismissed the petitions seeking an investigation into alleged irregularities in the Rs 58,000 crore deal.
Interestingly, it was CJI Gogoi who had dismissed all the petitions seeking probe into the case.
The government's controversial deal to purchase the fighter jets from Dassault has become one of the biggest controversies for the Narendra Modi-led NDA government.
Here is a detailed report on the entire controversy:
1. What is Rafale?
The Rafale is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by the French aircraft manufacturer, Dassault Aviation.
2. What is the Rafale deal all about?
In 2016, the Narendra Modi government signed an inter-governmental deal with France in 2016 for the sale of 36 Rafale medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) in flyaway condition. The deal is worth 7.87 billion euros.
3. Where is the controversy all about?
The UPA government had earmarked 10 billion dollars (Rs 68,000 crore) for the deal in 2007. Under the UPA's deal, 126 jets were to be acquired. 18 of these were to be imported in fly-away condition. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) was supposed to manufacture the remaining 108 jets with assistance from Dassault Aviation.
4. What are offsets?
Offsets are kind of a quid pro quo between countries and defence companies. Since a government spends a large part of its budget buying equipment from these companies, it asks these companies to invest a portion of the deal amount in their countries.
The clause allows for the economic growth of the country in the process of completing the deal. While some offset clauses may ask for investments, others may impose terms like onboarding of local suppliers in the process.
The key objectives of offsets are to leverage capital acquisitions to develop national defence R&D and encourage the aerospace and internal security sectors.
5. Are there any offset conditions in the Rafale deal?
Under the Narendra Modi government's Rafale deal, French aircraft-maker Dassault and its partners, engine-maker Safran and radar-maker Thales, are to source Rs 30,000 crore worth of purchases from India's local industry.
The deal's offsets of approximately Rs 30,000 crore were the largest since the policy was introduced in 2005.
In March 2018, the French government submitted a six-page document list of 72 offset partners for the Rafale deal to the Indian government during President Macron's official visit, showcasing its commitment to the government's flagship Make in India programme.
6. How is Reliance involved in the deal?
Dassault says it chose Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Defence Limited as an offset partner as per the defence ministry's offset policy.
On October 27, 2017, Anil Ambani and Dassault CEO Eric Trappier laid the foundation stone for a facility to produce parts of the Falcon business jets under Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited (DRAL), a 51:49 joint venture between Dassault and Reliance Defence.
The DRAL JV could account for between 15 and 17 percent of Dassault's share of the offset pie or roughly between Rs 1,260 and Rs 1,428 crore.
It has been alleged that Anil Ambani's defence company was favoured over the government-owned HAL. Even more questionable is the fact that a government-owned firm was sidelined to pick Reliance - a company that doesn't have any experience in making defence equipment.
It is noteworthy that Ambani's defence company was registered only 12 days before the prime minister announced the 36 aircraft deal in Paris in April 2015.
Also read: India receives first Rafale fighter jet from France
The timing adds to former French president Francois Hollande's Mediapart revelation - "It is the Indian government which proposed this group and Dassault who negotiated with Ambani. We did not have a choice, we took the interlocutor who was given to us."
Also adding to the allegations of crony capitalism is the fact that the deal with Dassault Aviation served as a lifeline for Reliance Defence - a firm struggling to pay its land dues.
That's not all -- Anil Ambani's Reliance Entertainment financed a film starring French actress Julie Gayet, Francois Hollande's partner. The fact that the film was being financed by an industrialist who stood to gain from the Rafale deal, even if as an offset partner, has added to the controversy.
Also read: How India-specific enhancements in Rafale will make it a lethal weapon
7. What are the critics saying about this deal?
At the centre of the entire controversy are allegations that the Narendra Modi government paid a higher price for the 36 Rafale fighter jets than what the UPA had agreed to pay for 126 Rafale jets in 2012. The government has refused to divulge the pricing details citing confidentiality clauses in the intergovernmental agreement with France
In the presence of businessman Anil Ambani as a defence offsets partner in the deal, critics found it to be marred with crony capitalism as it was supposed to be a deal between the governments of India and France.
