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HC asks government, TRAI, Sukh Ram to file replies in cell phone licence scam

The Delhi high court today directed the communication and finance ministries, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chairman and former Union minister Sukh Ram to make their stand known in a petition alleging financial irregularities of over Rs 11 billion in the allotment of licences to cellular phone operators.

A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Mahinder Narain and Justice Mukul Mudgal gave the direction after finding that none of the seven respondents in the matter had filed their replies to the court's show-cause notices.

The parties were asked to file their replies within two weeks and the matter was listed for further hearing on November 5.

The court was hearing a public interest petition filed by advocate B L Wadhera seeking an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the alleged financial irregularities, caused due to the negligence of the authorities.

Among the other respondents in the case were the chief executive of the Cellular Operators Association of India, former Union minister Rajesh Pilot and former member (finance) in the department of telecommunications S K N Nair.

Wadhera has amended his memo of parties correcting the name of the former member (finance), deleting the name of Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India and adding the name of Pilot, during whose tenure the allotment was cleared.

In the original memo of parties, R C Rastogi's name was wrongly mentioned as the former member (finance) in the DoT.

Rakesh Tikku, counsel for the communication and finance ministries, sought two weeks time to file replies and place Judge Usha Mehra's judgment.

Wadhera alleged that DoT, while alloting licences to cellular operators, failed to devise a basic standard for charging licence fee resulting in a net loss of about Rs 11 billion to the department.

The loss due to under-projection of the service was to the tune of Rs 3.54 billion, non-realisation of revised fee on calls (Rs 6.85 billion), on account of interest (Rs 507.6 million) and due to non-recovery of liquidated damages (Rs 330 million).

The petition urged the court to order penal action against all those who failed to protect public interest by not incorporating suitable provisions in the licence agreement for charging licence fee in case of the actual demand for mobile telephone services turning out to be more than the projection for first three years which unduly benefitted private operators in four metros by more than Rs 3.54 billion with consequential loss to DoT.

UNI