Spectrum Sale snippets

The Supreme Court cleared the way for next month's spectrum auctions to go ahead as scheduled, but said the results can't be finalised without its nod, throwing the telecom department and operators into a tizzy. A bench, comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Adarsh Kumar Goel, added a further rider -that no winner in the sale scheduled to start on March 4 can claim any “equity“ just because it had won a bid ­ creating further uncertainty among operators.
The top court's interim order will hold till March 26, when it hears the central government's plea against any court interference in the auction process. A ruling could come well after the auction process is over.Harried officials of the department of telecommunications were struggling to figure out the importance of the ruling and were likely to consult legal experts.
Another senior telecom department official, though, put up a brave face, saying the judgment was very clear that the auctions would continue as per schedule.
The government had consciously decided to move the Supreme Court on the matter to ensure that a “deliberate, calibrated and selective attempt on the part of some operators to frustrate the auctions is not allowed to succeed and we are very happy and assured with the court's order.“
The government had sought the top court's intervention to stop interference by high courts in the auction conditions, a policy issue which it said fell in the executive's domain and should not be altered.
At least five cases had been filed by telecom operators such as Reliance Communications, Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular in the high courts in Delhi, Karnataka, Allahabad and Tripura, challenging various aspects of the government's auction conditions.
The Tripura High Court had directed the government to allot 4.4 MHz in the Northeast circle, instead of the minimum 5 MHz mandated by the auction rules.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had urged the court to transfer all these cases to the top court and decide them once and for all for the sake of clarity. The bench, acting on the transfer petition, Thursday refused a plea to put off the auction process for a few days to allow for more clarity in the process. There may be some inconsistencies in the government policy , but that was no ground to stay the process, Justice Misra observed.