In the midst of allegations of kickbacks in the Barak missile deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] on Saturday appeared to favour recognising the role of middlemen in defence deals.

"If agents cannot be done away with, it is better to do deals through them," he told reporters accompanying him on his way back from a two-nation visit.

Declining to comment on the controversy involving former defence minister George Fernandes [Images], Dr Singh said investigations were underway and legal processes must be adhered to according to established rules.

"But it turns out that the assumption that one can do without agents does require some reappraisal," he said, adding, "Registration or some variant of the mechanism should be explored."

Asked to comment on the controversy surrounding Fernandes, Dr Singh said, "I don't want to comment on any specific issue."

On Fernandes dragging President A P J Abdul Kalam's name into the controversy, he took a swipe at him, saying he was not surprised.