Govt asks SC to fix para that refers to CAG, PAC

New Delhi: The Centre on Saturday moved the Supreme Court seeking correction in the Rafale jet judgement where a reference has been made about the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report and Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), saying that "misinterpretation" of its note has "resulted in a controversy in the public domain". In the application, the Centre said the two sentences in paragraph 25 of the judgement appeared to have been based on the note submitted by it along with the pricing details in a sealed cover, but indicated the words used by the court lent a different meaning.

The Centre claimed that it did not say that the CAG report was examined by PAC or a redacted portion was placed before Parliament. It clarified that the note had said that the Government "has already shared" the price details with the CAG, which was written in past tense and "is factually correct".

Meanwhile, PAC chairman Mallikarjun Kharge said on Saturday that he will request all members of the panel to summon the Attorney General and the CAG to ask them when the public auditor's report was tabled in Parliament. He accused the government of "misleading" the Supreme Court by presenting wrong facts about the CAG report on the Rafale deal and demanded that the government should apologise for it.

Kharge also said that they respect the Supreme Court but it is not a probe agency and only a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) can investigate the alleged corruption in the Rafale deal. "I will request the PAC members to call the Attorney General (AG) and the Comptroller and Auditor General to ask them when was the CAG report on the Rafale deal tabled in Parliament," he said. Kharge also cited the Supreme Court judgement that stated that CAG report on Rafale pricing had been tabled in Parliament and discussed in the PAC.

"When has the CAG discussed the PAC report. It has not been table so far. Wrong information is being feeded in the SC, it is a matter of shock... Government should apologise for misleading SC by presenting wrong facts on CAG report before Supreme Court," he said.