The deal was announced in 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then French president Francois Hollande. The governor's lawyer called the petition 'politically motivated'
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday has asked the Centre to give details of the decision-making process of the much-discussed Rafale fighter jet deal by October 29 in a sealed cover.
"We are not issuing a notice to the government. We make it clear that the court isn't taking into account arguments made by the petitioner. Their arguments are grossly inadequate," observed a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.
The Bench said that it would not go into the pricing or suitability of the jets.
"We want to satisfy ourselves on the steps taken in the decision-making. We are not going into the issue of suitability keeping in mind the sensitivity of the issue," said Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.
The Court passed the order after hearing petitioners ML Sharma and Vineet Dhanda. Another petitioner, Tehseen Poonawalla, chose to withdraw his petition.
Petitioner M L Sharma has said the buying process of the Rs. 59,000 crore deal for 36 fighters from France's Dassault is faulty and corrupted.
The deal was announced in 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then French president Francois Hollande.
The governor's lawyer called the petition "politically motivated".
Attorney General KK Venugopal said: "National security is involved and the court is being used on the eve of polls to gain politically in the bitter fight between the government and the opposition."
The political controversy over the Rafale deal escalated sharply after Francois Hollande's comment in an interview last month that France had no role in the selection of Anil Ambani's inexperienced Reliance Defence as India offset partner for Rafale-maker Dassault as part of the deal.
The matter will now be heard on October 31.
Read Exclusive COVID-19 Coronavirus News updates, at MyNation.