Supreme Court verdict cancelling 122 telecom licenses leaves
The Supreme Court on Thursday cancelled 122 2G spectrum licenses granted by former telecom minister A Raja on grounds that they are illegal.
A bench comprising justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly directed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to make fresh recommendations on allocation of 2G Spectrum licenses. A fine of Rs 5 crore each has been imposed on each of the three telecom companies for offloading their shares after getting the licenses.
The order, which was scathing in its depiction of the conduct of telecom policy in 2007-08, could nonetheless result in a multi-billion-dollar bonanza for a cash-strapped government, as 540 MHz of spectrum could become available for allocation through a public auction mandated by the court.
But foreign investors, notably Norway's Telenor and Russia's Sistema, reacted with shock, claiming they had only followed government policies in place at the time. Both operators had entered India through joint ventures with companies that had been awarded licences by Raja, who is currently behind bars facing trial in a related case.
A bench comprising justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly directed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to make fresh recommendations on allocation of 2G Spectrum licenses. A fine of Rs 5 crore each has been imposed on each of the three telecom companies for offloading their shares after getting the licenses.
The order, which was scathing in its depiction of the conduct of telecom policy in 2007-08, could nonetheless result in a multi-billion-dollar bonanza for a cash-strapped government, as 540 MHz of spectrum could become available for allocation through a public auction mandated by the court.
But foreign investors, notably Norway's Telenor and Russia's Sistema, reacted with shock, claiming they had only followed government policies in place at the time. Both operators had entered India through joint ventures with companies that had been awarded licences by Raja, who is currently behind bars facing trial in a related case.
The judges directed sector regulator Trai to come up with recommendations within two months for issuing licenses and auctioning spectrum. The telecom operators whose licenses had been cancelled could keep operating for four months, the court ruled, while Trai and the government carried out the groundwork for issuing new licenses.
"As per the orders, within four months, Trai will prepare guidelines for auction of spectrum that will be available after this cancellation,"
The opposition BJP seized upon the ruling to lash out at the government, with Arun Jaitley, the party's leader in Rajya Sabha, describing it as a monumental fraud.
According to the CAG report, the government has incurred a loss of up to Rs 1.76 lakh crore with the 2G scam.
"As per the orders, within four months, Trai will prepare guidelines for auction of spectrum that will be available after this cancellation,"
The opposition BJP seized upon the ruling to lash out at the government, with Arun Jaitley, the party's leader in Rajya Sabha, describing it as a monumental fraud.
According to the CAG report, the government has incurred a loss of up to Rs 1.76 lakh crore with the 2G scam.
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