SC dismisses PIL on 2010 4G spectrum allocation
The Matter pertains to the award of a chunk of spectrum to Infotel Broadband Services in which Reliance Industries later bought 95% stake and renamed the firm Reliance Jio Infocomm
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging fraud in the allocation of 4G spectrum in 2010, offering relief to Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.
Non-profit Centre for Public Interest Litigation moved the apex court in 2014 against the award of a chunk of spectrum to Infotel Broadband Services Pvt. Ltd (IBSPL), in which a 95% stake was bought in July 2010 by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. The remaining stake is with Infotech Digicomm Pvt. Ltd.
In March 2013, IBSPL was renamed Reliance Jio Infocomm.
“The spectrum allocation was only for data usage and not voice telephony. Reliance Jio was allowed to use it for voice as well," Prashant Bhushan, lawyer for Centre for Public Interest Litigation, had argued in court.
“The licence for voice telephony was granted to Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd at a pittance. It would have fetched a sum of ₹ 25,000 crore to the government over the 20-year licence period," he told the court, citing a draft report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
The non-profit also alleged that while other operators pay 3-5% of their revenue annually as spectrum usage charge, Reliance Jio only pays 1%.
The court refused to interfere in the matter after noting that the government was taking steps to reconsider spectrum charges.
“We leave it to the government to take appropriate action," justice A.K. Sikri said on Friday.
“When it is felt necessary and expedient in pubic interest, the percentage of spectrum usage charge can be increased by the government," the court ruled, after the government told it that it had the power to modify the terms of a licence and the spectrum usage charge at any point in time.
The Centre for Public Interest Litigation also sought a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the alleged back-door entry of Reliance Jio into voice telephony by paying an entry fee of 1,658 crore.
An email sent to Reliance Jio Infocomm seeking its response remained unanswered.
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