The aircraft deal worth around Euro 5.5 billion was cleared by the defence acquisition council just before the visit of the Indian Prime Minister to France as the state guest for their Bastille Day parade this year in July.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and S Ravindra Bhat considered lawyer ML Sharma's submission that a direction for issuing a letters rogatory to collect fresh evidence relating to the deal be issued.
The Congress urged Modi to come forward and order a JPC probe into the Rafale deal.
The sources said the IAF has briefed the defence ministry about the incident and that the Indian mission in Paris has been in touch with French authorities.
The group said Dassault choose Reliance Defence Ltd to meet its 'offset' or export obligation in the contract and the Ministry of Defence has no role in the selection of Indian partners by the foreign vendors.
Dassault Aviation has unveiled its biggest and most advanced Falcon jet.
French observers point out that Paris had no choice but to issue a denial given the importance of India's Rafale purchase for France's aerospace industry.
Is it Rs 300 billion or Rs 66 billion or Rs 33.12 billion?
RM took stock of progress in production of the fighter jets whose delivery to India will begin in September next year.
The report noted that the 2007 UPA deal included a 15 per cent bank guarantee against advance payments.
The negotiations on cost and techno-commercial details relating to India's proposed procurement of 26 Rafale-M fighter jets and three Scorpene submarines from France are not yet concluded, sources said on Tuesday.
The aircraft flew out from the airbase in the French port city of Bordeaux and will cover a distance of nearly 7,000 km with air-to-air refuelling and a single stop in the United Arab Emirates before arriving at Ambala airbase on Wednesday, officials said.
Here is an explainer and a timeline relating to India's purchase of 36 combat jets.
Singh received the aircraft at the Rafale fighter jet handing-over ceremony at Merignac in the presence of French Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly. Members of the top military brass of France as well as senior officials of Dassault Aviation, the makers of Rafale, were also present at the ceremony.
Sitharaman said the weapon systems, avionics and other key add-ons to the Rafale aircraft, will be 'much superior' than that negotiated by the UPA.
Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said the cost of each Rafale aircraft is approximately Rs 670 crore.
The planes would now officially be inducted on October 8 into the IAF when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visits France but the planes would start arriving in India only in May 2020 after validation of the India Specific Enhancements and training of pilots and personnel.
India on Thursday approved proposals for purchasing 26 Naval variant of Rafale jets from France and procuring three French-designed Scorpene class submarines, a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's wide-ranging talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
Reliance Industries has been eyeing the relatively closed field of defence manufacturing and homeland security for the past year or so. In fact Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani handpicked Dr Vivek Lall, a former top executive with Boeing last year to lead the company's foray into the sector
The prime minister must clear his stand on the Rafale deal after Hollande's remarks, he said.
Defence Ministry says the report is being verified, maintaining that neither Indian nor French government had any say in the decision.
Which of the two aircraft will India chose? Let's take a closer look at the two aircraft.
The two frontline combat aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed during a training mission in Morena on Saturday, resulting in the death of a wing commander while two other pilots ejected safely.
India may go beyond the purchase of 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft.
The Congress on Monday sought a thorough probe in the Rafale defence deal and demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after a French media report claimed that 1.1 million (Rs 9.5 crore) was paid to a "middleman" by the aircraft manufacturer.
'Anyone who should be worried about or critical about this new capability of the Indian Air Force, it should be those who want to threaten our territorial integrity'
Surjewala said shocking revelations have brought out lies of Sitharaman about the award of Rs 30,000 crore 'defence offset contract' to Reliance Defence as part of this deal.
The findings in the report published by the national daily are contrary to claims of the deal being cheaper and f having a faster delivery period.
The 101 Squadron is the second IAF squadron to be equipped with the Rafale fighter jets. In September last year, the Rafale aircraft were inducted into the 17 'Golden Arrows' Squadron.
Sources said a high-level team of the Indian Air Force is already in Paris to coordinate with the French officials on the handing over ceremony.
Hollande said only Dassault can comment on whether India had put pressure on Reliance and Dassault to work together.
In his PIL, Sharma alleged discrepancies in the fighter jet deal with France and sought stay on it.
The Congress chief also described Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's 3-day trip to France as part of a 'huge cover-up' by the government.
'We were against politicisation of the defence acquisition process. It was a question of capability of the air force'
Identifying Hindustan Aeronautics Limited as its "'main partner' in the multirole combat aircraft deal, France's Dassault Aviation today said it will set up a joint venture company with Reliance Industries to work on the $10 billion Rafale project.
Modi made the comments in his address after inaugurating the 14th edition of Aero India at the Yalahanka Air Force station complex on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
"There is no doubt any longer that Rafale aircraft deal deserves to be examined thoroughly by a joint parliamentary committee. Congress reiterates its demand for constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee," he said, citing a newspaper report that claimed the Modi government's decision to buy 36 jets, instead of 126 planned earlier, jack up the price of each aircraft.
'Rafale is much more advanced and lethal than the current fighter aircraft available with China. The timing of the arrival of the jets is perfect'
"The meeting demonstrated the depth of India-France bilateral partnership, especially in the defence sector, that has significantly strengthened in recent times. Both leaders resolved to take the relationship to the next higher level," said a statement issued by the ministry after the 35-minute meeting.
Swedish defence major Saab has offered to manufacture its fifth generation Gripen fighter aircraft in New Delhi with technology transfer to India.
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