The Supreme Court has been approached again by seven prominent personalities for restraining the government from regularising the 2G spectrum licence of 69 operators by imposing a fine of Rs 342 crore as initiated by communications minister Kapil Sibal despite the contrary recommendations of the telecom regulator.
The seven personalities, led by former chief election commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh and some NGOs, including Centre for PIL, in a fresh petition has urged the apex court to set up an “independent committee of experts” to deal with the 69 licences put on show cause notice by DoT for failing to roll-out their 2G services, stating that the matter could not be left to the government considering its “track record” in handling the spectrum issue. “The government is now trying to regularise the illegalities by imposing a fine of Rs 342.6 crore on all these defaulting/ineligible operators,” the petition said while quoting telecom secretary’s media statement that DoT has “received Rs 215.6 crore as liquidate damages from the new service providers for missing out the roll-out obligations out of the total Rs 342.6 crore demanded till January 21.”
Describing the move initiated by new communications minister Kapil Sibal as “total violation” of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s letter to DoT on November 18, 2010, the petition, filed by activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan, drew the attention of the apex court to fact that the regulator had actually recommended revocation of licences of 69 allottees for “non-utilisation/or inefficient utilisation”. The TRAI had clearly indicated that of the 69 non-performing operators, licences of 32 falling under ‘A2’ and ‘B2’ categories should be revoked while those of the 37 others falling in ‘C2’ and “D2’ categories should be straightaway cancelled.
“Given the track record of government and private companies, it is important that the replies given by the operators in response to show cause notice should be evaluated,” the petition said.