Scraps All 121 2G Permits Given By Raja
New Delhi: On a day when extelecom minister A Raja completed exactly a year in jail, the Supreme Court on Thursday scrapped all 121 2G licenses issued by him and held the entire process as illegal. Not just this, it felt constrained to go beyond
the illegalities and decide on the policy of awarding spectrum by saying that the scare natural resource could only be given in an open auction.
The verdict has pushed the government into defensive mode ahead of the UP polls as it endorsed that the national exchequer has lost hundreds of crores because of the scam and, as a corollary, rejected the government claim that the award of 2G licences have caused “zero loss”. The court ruling has sent ripples of concern across the telecom sector as well as to foreign investors.
The court, however, gave a short breather to Union home minister P Chidambaram. The 89-page judgement by Justices GS Singhvi and A K Ganguly refused to decide Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy’s petition seeking a CBI probe into the allegation of Chidambaram conniving with Raja to award the 2G licences. It left this to the Special Court dealing with the 2G case. The Special Court is expected to deliver its order on Saturday.
At various places in the order, the two justices held that Raja ignored the advice of the PM and did not consult the finance minister or the law minister: something that strengthens UPA’s defence that he was acting on his own.
Despite strong government resistance, Justice Ganguly, who retired on Thursday, and Justice Singhvi met half way activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan’s demand to set up a special investigation team of the court to monitor the CBI probe into the spectrum scam.
‘AUCTION THE ONLY ANSWER’
The SC’s stand on the sale of state-owned natural resources has implications for the future. It has said, “There is a fundamental flaw in the principle of first-come-first serve”. Pointing out that those with access to the corridors of power could use it to their advantage, the court said that for giving out scarce resources like spectrum the government must always auction. It added that “any other methodology for disposal of public property and natural resources/national assets is likely to be misused by unscrupulous people”.COURT MAKES A TOUGH CALL
SC asks trial court to decide whether Chidambaram should be investigated in 2G scam, gives 4-wk time. But Judge Saini may decide on Feb 4
BANKS JITTERY
SBI, IDBI Bank, PNB main lenders. Their exposure to 11 firms whose licences have been cancelled is over
20,000cr FIRMS ALSO FINED
5cr
Swan,
Unitech Wireless, Tata Teleservices
50L
Loop, S-Tel,
Shyam Sistema,
Alliance Infratech SUBSCRIBERS AFFECTED109m
ROAD AHEAD
All licences given to private telcos after Jan 10, 2008 and allocation of spectrum for these licences quashed Licences to be cancelled in 4 months TRAI to make fresh recommendations for auction of 2G licences & spectrum in 22 circles Govt to decide on these within another month and auction licences Order not to affect 2G investigations of CBI, ED etc. or defence of those facing prosecution by CBI
SUPREME COURT SPEAK
The manner in which the exercise for grant of LoIs to the applicants was conducted leaves no room for doubt that everything was stage managed to favour those who were able to know in advance (of the) change in the implementation of the first-come-first served principle.
What needs to be emphasised is that the State and/or its agencies/instrumentalities cannot give largesse to any person according to sweet will and whims of the political entities and/or officers of State.
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