The ruling BJP at the Centre heaved a huge sigh of reliefyesterday when the Supreme Court of India struck down a petition filed jointly by Arun Shourie, Yashwant Sinha and advocate Prashant Bhushan seeking a probe in the multi-crore deal for procuring Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Expressing shock and resentment at the Apex Court’s decision, the trio said that it was unfortunate that the verdict was a ‘hastened one’ as the Court apparently didn’t bother to look deep into the facts presented before it in arriving at the verdict.

“Our main prayer of seeking investigation into the deal hasn’t been given due consideration as some points referred to in the Court’s verdict are neither on record nor are correct,” a statement issued by the trio said.

“The apex Court has stated in its verdict that pricing details were shared with the CAG and that Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had examined CAG’s report. It also said that the IAF chief had his reservation in disclosing the price as it might affect national security. These were not in record and it is confusing as to where from the apex Court got these data,” the statement concluded.