Rafale contract documents stolen from Defence Ministry, Attorney General Venugopal tells SC
He argues that the documents were marked secret and classified, and revealing them was a violation of the Official Secrets Act.
The Union government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the documents related to Rafale fighter aircraft deal have been stolen from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), and the petitioners seeking a review of the verdict dismissing all pleas against the purchase of the jets relied upon those papers.
A three-judge Bench, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S.K. Kaul and K.M. Joseph, began the open court hearing of the Rafale case, during which former Union Ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and advocate Prashant Bhushan, who had jointly filed the petition, alleged that the Central government suppressed crucial facts when the apex court decided to dismiss the batch of PIL (public interest litigation) petitions against the Rafale deal in December.
When Mr. Bhushan referred to an article written by The Hindu’s N. Ram, Attorney General (AG) K.K. Venugopal opposed it, saying that the articles were based on stolen documents and an investigation into the matter was on.
Mr. Venugopal said the first article by the senior journalist appeared in The Hindu on February 8. The Hindu report on March 6 was aimed at influencing the proceedings and that amounted to contempt of court, he added.
While Mr. Venugopal was seeking dismissal of the review petitions and raising objections to Bhushan’s arguments based on the articles published in The Hindu, the Bench sought to know from the Centre what had it done when it was alleging that the stories were based on stolen material.
The AG submitted that the documents relied on by the petitioners were marked secret and classified, and therefore, are in violation of the Official Secrets Act.
Advancing his arguments on behalf of Mr. Sinha, Mr. Shourie and himself, Mr. Bhushan said critical facts on the Rafale deal were suppressed when the petition for an FIR and investigation were filed.
He said that the top court would not have dismissed the plea for FIR and probe into Rafale deal had there not been suppression of facts.
However, Mr. Venugopal said the documents relied upon by Mr. Bhushan were stolen from the Defence Ministry and an investigation into the matter was on.
At this point, the CJI said that hearing Mr. Bhushan did not mean that the court was also taking on record the documents.
The Bench rose for the lunch break, Mr. asking Venugopal to apprise it in the post lunch session the whole development related to the stealing of the documents and the investigation by the Centre.
Please note that under 66A of the IT Act, sending offensive or menacing messages through electronic communication service and sending false messages to cheat, mislead or deceive people or to cause annoyance to them is punishable. It is obligatory on kemmannu.com to provide the IP address and other details of senders of such comments, to the authority concerned upon request. Hence, sending offensive comments using kemmannu.com will be purely at your own risk, and in no way will Kemmannu.com be held responsible.
Similarly, Kemmannu.com reserves the right to edit / block / delete the messages without notice any content received from readers.
Final Journey Of Theresa D’Souza (79 years) | LIVE From Kemmannu | Udupi |
Invest Smart and Earn Big!
Creating a World of Peaceful Stay!
For the Future Perfect Life that you Deserve! Contact : Rohan Corporation, Mangalore.
Final Journey Of Joe Victor Lewis (46 years) | LIVE From Kemmannu | Organ Donor | Udupi |
Milagres Cathedral, Kallianpur, Udupi - Parish Bulletin - Feb 2024 Issue
Easter Vigil 2024 | Holy Saturday | St. Theresa’s Church, Kemmannu, Udupi | LIVE
Way Of Cross on Good Friday 2024 | Live From | St. Theresa’s Church, Kemmannu, Udupi | LIVE
Good Friday 2024 | St. Theresa’s Church, Kemmannu | LIVE | Udupi
2 BHK Flat for sale on the 6th floor of Eden Heritage, Santhekatte, Kallianpur, Udupi
Maundy Thursday 2024 | LIVE From St. Theresa’s Church, Kemmannu | Udupi |
Kemmennu for sale 1 BHK 628 sqft, Air Conditioned flat
Symphony98 Releases Soul-Stirring Rendition of Lenten Hymn "Khursa Thain"
Palm Sunday 2024 at St. Theresa’s Church, Kemmannu | LIVE
Final Journey of Patrick Oliveira (83 years) || LIVE From Kemmannu
Carmel School Science Exhibition Day || Kmmannu Channel
Final Journey of Prakash Crasta | LIVE From Kemmannu || Kemmannu Channel
ಪ್ರಗತಿ ಮಹಿಳಾ ಮಹಾ ಸಂಘ | ಸ್ತ್ರೀಯಾಂಚ್ಯಾ ದಿಸಾಚೊ ಸಂಭ್ರಮ್ 2024 || ಸಾಸ್ತಾನ್ ಘಟಕ್
Valentine’s Day Special❤️||Multi-lingual Covers || Symphony98 From Kemmannu
Rozaricho Gaanch December 2023 issue, Mount Rosary Church Santhekatte Kallianpur, Udupi
An Ernest Appeal From Milagres Cathedral, Kallianpur, Diocese of Udupi
Diocese of Udupi - Uzvd Decennial Special Issue
Final Journey Of Canute Pinto (52 years) | LIVE From Mount Rosary Church | Kallianpura | Udupi
Earth Angels Anniversary | Comedy Show 2024 | Live From St. Theresa’s Church | Kemmannu | Udupi
Confraternity Sunday | St. Theresa’s Church, Kemmannu
Kemmannu Cricket Match 2024 | LIVE from Kemmannu
Naturya - Taste of Namma Udupi - Order NOW
New Management takes over Bannur Mutton, Santhekatte, Kallianpur. Visit us and feel the difference.
Focus Studio, Near Hotel Kidiyoor, Udupi
Earth Angels - Kemmannu Since 2023
Kemmannu Channel - Ktv Live Stream - To Book - Contact Here
Click here for Kemmannu Knn Facebook Link