NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday gave a clean chit to the Narendra Modi government in the Rafale fighter jets deal case, saying review petitions were without merit. Dismissing the review petitions, the Division Bench of SC comprising Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said, “There was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets”.

It dismissed the review petitions that had challenged its December 14, 2018 verdict giving a clean chit to the NDA government in the government-to-government Rafale fighter jet deal with France’s Dassault Aviation.

The Supreme Court bench comprising Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph said they will not get into fishing or roving inquiry on the basis of perception of individuals. "No merits. Dismissed," the bench ruled.

The court, however, allowed the government's application to make certain corrections in the December 14, 2018 verdict. The apex court bench had earlier reserved the order on the review pleas on May 10 this year. Three review petitions had challenged the SC verdict on the Rafale deal - one filed by former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan; and others by lawyer Vineet Dhandha and Aam Aadmi Party lawmaker Sanjay Singh.

In their petition, Mr Sinha, Mr Shourie and Mr Bhushan had alleged that the 2018 judgment "relied upon patently incorrect claims made by the government in an unsigned note given in a sealed cover" to the Supreme Court. They also requested for an oral hearing of the petition in an open court.

The centre had said the petitioners relied on media reports and they can't reopen the case. The articles had claimed that the central government had not revealed all the details in the court.

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