New Delhi: When the Supreme Court cancelled 122 licenses granted in 2008 for mobile network licenses and accompanying spectrum, the two judges who delivered the verdict said all national resources must be distributed only through an auction. The licenses revoked by Justices AK Ganguly and GS Singhvi had been allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis by then minister A Raja. The judges said this policy was "fundamentally flawed" partly because it presented an advantage to anyone with access to the "corridors of power."
The nullification of those licenses has sent corporate India into spasms, with foreign investors like Etisalat looking to exit the telecom sector altogether. The government said it accepts the verdict of the court, but now, it wants clarification on how other resources should be distributed. So the Prime Minister has sanctioned a Presidential reference on the matter. What this means is that the government will formally request President Pratibha Patil to ask the Supreme Court if this applies to all natural resources.
The last time such a presidential referral was made was in 2004 for a dispute between Punjab and Haryana over water-sharing.
The 122 licenses that were cancelled last month are at the heart of what's believed to be India's biggest scam. As Telecom Minister, Mr Raja, now in jail, allegedly granted sweetheart deals to companies who conspired with him - not only did he give them licenses at throwaway prices, but the spectrum they needed was free. Many of the executives of these companies were arrested last year and spent several months in jail before being granted bail.
The nullification of those licenses has sent corporate India into spasms, with foreign investors like Etisalat looking to exit the telecom sector altogether. The government said it accepts the verdict of the court, but now, it wants clarification on how other resources should be distributed. So the Prime Minister has sanctioned a Presidential reference on the matter. What this means is that the government will formally request President Pratibha Patil to ask the Supreme Court if this applies to all natural resources.
The last time such a presidential referral was made was in 2004 for a dispute between Punjab and Haryana over water-sharing.
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The 122 licenses that were cancelled last month are at the heart of what's believed to be India's biggest scam. As Telecom Minister, Mr Raja, now in jail, allegedly granted sweetheart deals to companies who conspired with him - not only did he give them licenses at throwaway prices, but the spectrum they needed was free. Many of the executives of these companies were arrested last year and spent several months in jail before being granted bail.
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