Lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Friday said the Supreme Court ruling earlier this dismissing petitions seeking a review of the December 14, 2018 judgment on the Rafale issue, had, in fact, paved the way for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the deal.
Mr. Bhushan was one of the petitioners, along with former Union Ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie, who had sought a review of the judgment . They had earlier lodged a complaint with then CBI chief Alok Kumar Verma, alleging corruption in the deal.
Addressing mediapersons, Mr. Bhushan said there was no impediment on the part of the CBI in seeking prior permission from the competent authority under Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act and registering an FIR on their pending complaint.
Quoting the separate opinion of Justice K.M. Joseph , one of the three judges of the Bench, Mr. Bhushan said the judgment did not stand in the way of the CBI in taking action as per law. He said the CBI was bound by a Constitution Bench’s decision in the Lalita Kumari case that registration of FIR was mandatory if the information disclosed commission of a cognisable offence.
Stating that he would ask from the CBI about the status of the complaint, Mr. Bhushan said: “We had in fact, in our complaint of October 4, 2018, asked the CBI to seek necessary approval... It has been more than a year since the complaint was submitted to the then Director of CBI, Alok Verma.”
“Accordingly, we expect Rishi Kumar Shukla, his successor, to seek the necessary approval...to begin the necessary inquiry into the complaint in earnest, in conformity with the judgment,” he said. Mr. Bhushan and Mr. Shourie said the court had misconstrued their plea, which was to assess if a prima facie case was made out for investigation.
“The same mistake had been made by the original judgment dated December 14, 2018 , in the writ petition which became the ground for seeking review,” said a statement released by them.
