New Delhi, November 14: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the Justice KM Joseph, in his order on review pleas in the Rafale case, has opened "huge door" for a probe and demanded that an investigation should be done in "full earnest". He reiterated Congress' demand of an investigation by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) into the Rafale fighter jet deal with France.

"Justice Joseph of the Supreme Court has opened a huge door into an investigation of the RAFALE scam. An investigation must now begin in full earnest," tweeted Rahul, who made Rafale deal an issue in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The former Congress party president also put out a copy of Justice Joseph's order in the case, which said an FIR must be registered on the petitioners' complaint to "disclose cognizable offences" in the deal. Amit Shah Says 'Supreme Court Verdict on Rafale Deal Befitting Reply to Malicious Campaign, Seeks Congress Apology'.

The apex court passed an order on a batch of petitions seeking review of its December 14, 2018 verdict which had upheld purchase of 36 Rafale jets by NDA government. The court also accepted Rahul's apology for wrongly attributing his infamous "chowkidar chor hai" remark in the case to Prime Minister Narendra Modi while closing a contempt petition filed by BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi. Rafale Review Plea Verdict: Supreme Court Rules Out CBI Probe in Purchase of 36 Fighter Jets From Dassault Aviation.

"Rahul Gandhi needs to be more careful in the future. It was unfortunate," a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph said in their verdict.