We are viewing Scorpene leak 'very seriously': Navy chief

Leak of information related to Scorpene submarine is being viewed "very seriously", but it is "not a matter of much worry", Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said on Monday in his first comment after over 22,000 pages of data detailing the vessel's capabilities became public.

"Any leak of information is viewed very seriously. We have viewed the leak of Scorpene data very seriously and we have asked (French firm) DCNS to launch an urgent investigation into this," the Navy chief said in New Delhi.

He noted that the defence ministry has set up a high-level committee to investigate the matter.

"Based on the report of the committee, we will see what mitigation measures need to be taken," he said.

Asked how serious a concern the leak was, the Navy chief said, "This is not a matter of much worry. The committee is analysing and they will see what data has been compromised and what mitigation steps have to be taken."

The high-level committee is expected to submit a detailed report to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar by September 20.

Over 22,000 pages of top secret data on the capabilities of six highly advanced submarines being built for the Navy in Mumbai in collaboration with French company DCNS have been leaked.

Meanwhile, French defence firm DCNS on Monday said it has approached an Australian court demanding that 'The Australian' newspaper should remove the published Scorpene data from its website and prevent any further publication.

"DCNS, through the application filed, has demanded The Australian to remove the documents which it has published on its website and prevent further publishing of other documents," the company's headquarters in Paris said in a statement.

The firm's lawyer had on Sunday told the newspaper that 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 newspaper, which had said that it will publish the documents regarding the weapons system of the submarine on Monday, has not done so.

The French public prosecutor has opened a preliminary investigation into the data leak, with DCNS filing a complaint of breach of trust.

Photograph: Indian Navy