Supreme Court seeks govt explanations on restricting the sale of airwaves

09 Nov 2012 Evaluate

Amid concerns raised by the telcos that the government is trying to jack-up the auction prices, the Supreme Court has asked the government to immediately explain why it is restricting the sale of airwaves in the upcoming auctions, and not selling all spectrum vacated by the 122 licences whose permits were cancelled earlier this year.

Earlier, Idea Cellular and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the industry body representing GSM operators, had challenged the government's decision to restrict the sale of airwaves in the upcoming sale. It was stated in the petition that 431 MHz of second generation airwaves was vacated by the apex court's February 2 verdict, but the government had only put 271 MHz up for auction.

The COAI had also asked the court to direct the government to include 83.6 MHz of GSM spectrum in the 1800 MHz band given to Tata Teleservices on the same date as the now-quashed 122 licences. But the court said it would deal with this issue separately.

In a related development, the Supreme Court expressed its displeasure that the Delhi High Court was hearing the matters relating to the 2G spectrum scam despite its order restraining courts below the apex court from adjudicating issues arising out of the case.

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