Yashwant Sinha and others v. CBI and others 2019 | Current Affairs & General Knowledge - CLAT PDF Download

Case Analysis

Case Summary and Outcome

The Supreme Court of India held that leaked documents relating to the Rafale arms deal were admissible for consideration by the Court. The preliminary objection by the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was brought in opposition to a review of the arms deal on the grounds that the documents which form the basis of the investigation were stolen and thus could not be used in a Court of Law.
In dismissing the objection, the three-judge bench reasoned that there was no violation of the Official Secrets Act 1923, or any other statute which prevented placing documents marked as secret before a Court of Law. The Court also found that Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, relating to unpublished public records, did not apply.

Facts

• The case concerned three documents that provided evidence in the political controversy surrounding the Rafale arms deal: a 7.8 billion euro weapons deal to purchase 36 Rafale fighter planes from France. The controversy arose after the Indian prime minister announced a decision during a 2015 visit to Paris to purchase the planes, manufactured by Dassault aviation. India had been negotiating the sale of the fighter planes since 2007.
• On December 15, 2018, the Indian Supreme Court held that there was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process of the Modi government. The court dismissed all the petitions seeking a review of the decision via a CBI investigation. 
• On January 2, 2019, ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and advocate Prashant Hushan appealed to the Supreme Court to review the Rafale verdict. 
• On March 6, 2019, the CBI informed the Supreme Court that documents relating to the Rafale deal had been stolen from the Defence Ministry.
• On April 10, 2019, the Supreme Court dismissed the preliminary objection by the CBI opposing the inclusion of the leaked documents. Subsequently, in November of 2019, the Supreme Court dismissed the review petitions against its verdict in the Rafale deal on the grounds that they lacked merit.

Decision Overview

• The unauthorised removal of the three documents from the Indian Defence Ministry and their use to support the petitioners’ pleas in the review petition was in violation of Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923. Section 3 penalizes the collection or publication of any document that might affect the sovereignty and integrity of India. Section 5 holds any person liable for wilfully communicating information which might harm the security or interest of the nation. 
• Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 bars the disclosure of the three documents in the public domain. Section 123 prohibits presenting an unpublished official record relating to any affairs of the nation as evidence, except with the permission from the head of the department concerned.
• The three documents should not be relied on by the Court because they were improperly procured.
• The documents cannot be accessed under the Right to Information Act, 2005. Section 8 of the Act exempts disclosure of any information to a citizen which will prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India. Notwithstanding this exemption or anything in the 1923 Act, information may be disclosed if the related public interest outweighs the harm to the protected interests (Section 8(2)).
• The Respondents also argued that certain State actions are outside the purview of judicial review and lie within the political domain, like the one involved in the present case. The action may threaten the security of the citizens of India and should, therefore, be dismissed on the grounds of public policy.