Securing the Scorpene: DCNS to Move Court
The French shipbuilder DCNS plans to seek an injunction to prevent further publication of information contained in 22,400 secret documents about stealth submarines built for India, says The Australian.
The company will seek legal action in the Supreme Court of New South Wales after the documents dated from 2011 allegedly detailing the secret combat capabilities of six Scorpène-class diesel-electric submarines were leaked to newspaper.
While some of India’s veteran submariners have described the leak as a storm in a teacup, others fear that the credibility of the platform may have been compromised.
The documents landing in the wrong hands could be really detrimental to India's push for naval expansion and maritime supremacy in and around its waters at a time when China is already jockeying for position there.
The Australian newspaper put out certain documents reported to be part of a 22,400-page tome pertaining to the Indian Scorpene submarine currently being built in collaboration with DCNS.
The DCNS has also sought a court order to the newspaper to hand over the documents in its possession and removal of the contents from its website.
"The publication of this highly valuable document causes a direct harm to DCNS and its customer in terms of spread of sensitive and restricted information, image and reputation," The Australian quoted an affidavit by DCNS lawyer Justine Munsie.
The French firm has also petitioned the federal court to order the daily to hand over all the documents it has on what was to be India's most advanced submarine.
Last week, The Australian said it had redacted the most sensitive of the information found in the leaks, but DCNS is reportedly concerned about more sensitive information making its way into the public eye.
