SC refuses to interfere with HC's adverse findings in spectrum row
The Supreme Court today declined to interfere with the adverse findings of the Delhi High Court against the Department of Telecom and Union Minister A Raja in the allocation of 2G spectrum.
"We make it clear that the findings reached by the High Court is not interfered with in this particular case," a bench of Justices B Sudershan Reddy and S S Nijjar said.
It, however, recorded an undertaking from the Attorney General G E Vahanvati that the government has not rejected the application of telecom company S Tel seeking allotment of licenses for its operation.
The apex court declined to interfere with the adverse findings after former Union Minister Subramanaiam Swamy, appearing in person, opposed the Centre's plea for disposing off the SLP filed by it in the wake of an understanding reached between the Ministry and S Tel company.
The Delhi High Court had earlier on a petition from S Tel slammed the government for advancing the cut-off date for spectrum allocation allegedly benefitting select companies.
It had quashed the Centre's decision of advancing the cut-off date to September 25, 2008 from October 1 and had directed it to consider the applications of telecom operators which had applied for spectrum allocation till October 1. Aggrieved, the Centre had appealed in the apex court.
Swamy, who moved an intervention application, opposed any move to dispose off the SLP on the ground that it would have a bearing on the ongoing CBI investigations into spectrum allocation row.
He said he had already written four letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking permission to prosecute Raja but the same had not been granted to him.
"It is not that I do not know him (Manomohan Sing). I know him for the past 40 years but unfortunately despite four remainders, I failed to get any response from him," Swamy told the apex court while opposing any relief to the Centre.
The former Union Minister said he intends to either to move the high court or the Supreme Court if permission is not granted as the matter involved grave public importance.
In deference to Swamy's plea, the apex court said it was not interefering with the findings of the high court.The apex court also accepted the written apology tendered by S Tel after it was pulled up for exchanging correspondence with the Centre on the allocation when the matter was pending before the bench.
The court had pulled up the company, a joint venture of Chennai-based Siva group and Bahrain Telecom (Batelco), after the Centre informed that S Tel has written to it saying it has accepted the government's position that its application for spectrum has not been rejected and would be considered subject to the availability of the precious resource.
At the earlier hearing, the Centre had faced a tough time in the Court which had questioned the Telecommunication Ministry's decision for advancing the cut-off date for allocation of 2G spectrum to new telecom operators.
A Raja had come under fire for his decision to advance the cut-off date to allegedly favour only a handful of companies.Companies, including Unitech, Swan Telecom, Loop, Datacom and Shyam-Sistema among others were given licences in January 2008 followed by 2G spectrum at a cost of Rs 1,658 crore for pan-India operations.
The DoT has stood its ground that there was no wrongdoing and the decision was taken keeping in mind the availability of spectrum
