In a diplomatic note dated 25 Jul 2023, French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain commented on the difficulty of collaborating with India on criminal cases noting, ‘many cases are handled by our Indian partners with very long delays, often in an incomplete manner.’ In a new report, published by Paris-based investigative website Mediapart, details emerged on how the Modi-led government is refusing to cooperate with French judges in their ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in the €7.8B sale of 36 Dassault-built Rafale fighter jets to India in 2016. The Indian government has refused to comply with a formal request for international cooperation on the case investigating suspected corruption, influence peddling, and favoritism in the deal. The highly sensitive investigation implicates three heads of state or governments: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French president Emmanuel Macron, and his predecessor at the Elysée, François Hollande. In the 2019 general elections, the opposition INC tried to make the Rafale deal an important issue; however, the BJP government returned to power with an even larger majority than in 2014. In 2018, the Indian Supreme Court decided to not order a court-monitored investigation into the deal. In 2019, the Court rejected the plea to review its judgment. Post-retirement, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, who had earlier given a favorable judgment in the Ram Janmabhoomi case based on unverified Janam Sakhis (accounts of Sikh founder-Guru’s lives), was awarded with a Rajya Sabha membership. Just as with the current Nijjar case in Canada, the extent of India's non-cooperation with other governments is widening with each new revelation.
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