NEW DELHI: The suspense hanging over the Rafale jet deal, being bought from Dassault aviation of France, is over as the apex court has dismissed the review petition filed by Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and Prashant Bhushan as the judges found the petition devoid of ‘merit’.
“We don’t feel it necessary to order an FIR or a roving inquiry into the Rafale deal,” said the bench comprising of outgoing CJI Ranjan Gogoi, Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph while dismissing the pleas. “We find the review petitions are without any merit,” SC said.
“This deal was important for the Air Force for the way the fighter squadrons have depleted,” said Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd).
The Rafale deal joining the Indian Air force is important for the capabilities it will bring and the addition in the number of fighter aircraft which will take place, he said.
Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia, Director of Delhi-based think tank Center for Joint Warfare Studies feels politics and military should be kept separate.
“Adversaries have their own plans and it does not slow down seeing our delays in procurements. So, after due process is followed, the deals should not be blocked,” said Bhatia.