NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will hear a new petition seeking an investigation into alleged corruption charges in the Rafael deal in two weeks time.
The SC scheduled a hearing of the PIL following new revelations made by a French media outlet about the 2016 Rafael deal between India and France also involved the payment of 1.1 million Euros by aviation major Dassault to an Indian middleman.
Advocate Manohar Lal Sharma who filed the new plea was also the original petitioner against the 2015 Rafale deal but the plea was dismissed in December 2018 and a review also rejected in November 2019.
He filed a fresh plea this year after irregularities in the deal were reported in the French media. The allegations have already been denied by Dassault Aviation.
French publication ”Mediapart”, citing an investigation by the country’s anti-corruption agency, reported that Dassault had paid about one million Euros to an Indian company called Defsys Solutions for 50 models of the aircraft which were to be given as “gifts”.
(With inputs from agencies)