In Brief
The Supreme Court dismissed four writ petitions challenging the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets. The petitioners alleged non-transparency, improper pricing, and favouritism in replacing HAL with Reliance Defence as the offset partner, triggered by statements from France's ex-President. The Court held that judicial scrutiny of defence procurement is highly restricted and confined to procedural regularity and absence of mala fides. Finding the decision-making process broadly compliant with the Defence Procurement Procedure 2013, and that the Defence Offset Guidelines vest partner selection exclusively with the OEM, not the government, the Court dismissed all petitions, holding that pricing details cannot be subject to judicial comparison due to national security and confidentiality constraints.">
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