BackSupreme Court allows Centre to finalize and declare telecom auction results
Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi told the court that the auction had been a success after seeing fierce competition
Premium
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the central government to finalize the result of the telecom spectrum auction, which ended on Wednesday.
The auction, which netted nearly ₹ 1.09 trillion, is subject to a final order of the court, with telecom companies Bharti Hexacom Ltd and Reliance Telecom Ltd telling the court they have challenged the “design of the notice inviting tender", which required consideration of the court.
Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi told the court that the auction had been a success after seeing fierce competition. In the northeast service area, where 8.8MHz was available for auction, Bharti has taken the whole spectrum, he told the court.
This had been under dispute earlier, as Bharti Hexacom and Reliance Telecom had claimed that a minimum requirement of 5MHz out of the 8.8MHz had the potential to knock out one of the parties.
The court on Thursday also asked that the successful bidders of the auction, once the government releases the information, be made parties to this case as their spectrum rights would also be affected by any order of the court.
The court was modifying its order of 26 February, by which it had asked the Union government not to finalize the result of the auction which began on 4 March.
Rohatgi requested a modification of the order as the government was to receive an initial payment of ₹ 28,000 crore from the bidders, which would help narrow the budget deficit by 0.2%.
The court will hear the case next on 16 April.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
