New Delhi:
The Supreme Court has delivered three verdicts today with huge ramifications for the government, India Inc and cell phone users across the country. Here are ten big facts on today's verdicts, delivered by Justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly, who retires today.
1) Verdict 1: The Supreme Court has scrapped 122 licenses issued in 2008, by A Raja when he was Telecom Minister. The two judges said these licenses were granted in an "arbitrary and unconstitutional" manner. It has asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to recommend a new process of allocation of licenses, along with guidelines for an auction of spectrum. Analysts say that the auction means telecoms will pay much more than they have so far for airwaves, and that means that cell phone calls could become more expensive.
2) Verdict 2: the Supreme Court has said it is up to the trial court of Judge O P Saini to decide on whether P Chidambaram should be formally investigated by the CBI for his actions a Finance Minister in 2008, when the telecom scam was engineered by A Raja, who is now in jail. Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy had asked the Supreme Court to order the CBI to investigate Mr Chidambaram's role. He has also asked Judge Saini's court to make Mr Chidambaram a co-accused in the telecom trial. Judge Saini's verdict on this petition is expected on Saturday. He has been asked by the Supreme Court to rule on the CBI inquiry for Mr Chidambaram within two weeks.
3) Verdict 3: The Supreme Court has rejected a petition by lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan to appoint a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to oversee the CBI's inquiry. Mr Bhushan has said this was necessary because the CBI is not working impartially, and is being influenced by the government to protect Mr Chidambaram. The Supreme Court has said that the Central Vigilance Commissiom (CVC) will study the CBI's reports on its telecom investigation.
4) Justice GS Singhvi and Justice AK Ganguly said "but for the initiative of enlightened citizens looking for clean governance, unsuspecting citizens would not have known the misuse and arbitrary manner in which second-generation (2G) telecom licences were granted."
5) What does this mean for you? India's telecom regulator, TRAI, says the cancelled licenses impact a relatively small percentage of customers - 5% of all users. TRAI says it needs to study today's judgement thoroughly before outlining the impact on customers. It will urgently try to figure out how companies whose licenses have been cancelled should inform their subscribers about what happens next. If you have been with an affected company for more than 90 days, you can port or switch to a different operator. For customers who are less than 90 days old, TRAI will have to figure out a system of assistance.
6) Indictment of government: By cancelling all licenses issued by Mr Raja, the Supreme Court has delivered a sharp indictment of the government. The implication is that the Prime Minister and Mr Chidambaram, who have tried to distance themselves from Mr Raja's actions, failed to protect the country's interests.
7) BJP seizes verdict for an amplified attack: the opposition says that the Supreme Court's verdict proves that the cabinet led by the PM has to take collective responsibility for the telecom scam, one that the party's Arun Jaitley described as "the single-biggest act of corruption in free India." He also said that the Finance Minister is the custodian of the country's exchequer, and that Mr Chidambaram cannot be let off the hook. Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad dared, "Will Sonia Gandhi end her silence now? She is the biggest leader in the government."
8) Uninor, the joint venture between Unitech Wireless and Telenor from Norway, has responded with this statement: "We have been unfairly treated as we simply followed the Government process we were asked to. We are shocked to see that Uninor is being penalized for faults the court has found in the Government process. It is important to note that order does not stop our operations for now. We will study the order in detail and exercise all options available to ensure that Uninor continues to operate in India. We also expect the authorities to ensure that our 36 million customers, 17500 workforce and 22,000 partners are not unjustly affected."
9) Impact on economy: If the government opts for an auction to re-allocate the licenses that were cancelled today, it could earn a huge amount of money which could reduce its fisal deficit. But the verdict is likely to further unnerve foreign investors, whose confidence has been shaken by slow reforms in India, and by recent policy fiascos like the announcement and suspension of new rules for foreign investment in the retail sector.
10) Impact on telecom sector: an over-crowded field with 12 players is likely to see consolidation. Smaller players who entered to make a quick buck courtesy cheap licenses will be forced to exit, leaving behind the older and more established operators. Does that mean higher cellphone rates? Probably.