SC rejects petition aginst Sibal for 'favouring' RCOM

Ask the "aggrieved" to go to the competent authority under the telecom law

deevakar

Deevakar Anand | July 11, 2011



The supreme court on Monday said “no order is required” on a PIL against telecom minister Kapil Sibal alleging that he gave undue favor to Anil Ambani owned RCOM .  It asked the aggrieved to "avail remedy under the law.”

Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly said, "If there is any irregularity allegedly connected whatsoever with telecom, it cannot be linked to the 2G," as sought in the petition filed by Prashant Bhusan of the centre for public interest litigation. The petition accused Sibal of reducing the penalty to be paid by RCOM for alleged violation in the Unified access service licence (UASL) agreement, from Rs 650 crore to five crore.

Senior advocate Rohinton Nariman, who appeared for the government in place of solicitor general Gopal Subramanium on being asked by the bench whether the matter in hand was related to 2G replied, "Not at all."

The bench further said, "Persons aggrieved will be entitled to avail remedy in accordance with the law."

Prashant Bhushan was pressing for the matter to be investigated alleging Sibal had taken a unilateral decision on the RCOM issue.

The bench also said that CBI may or may not investigate the matter. “The minister's decision may be right or may be wrong,” the court observed. It said that the petitioner can move to the competent authority.
 

Comments

 

Other News

The health sector research we are not doing

Some neglect is loud. This kind is quiet. It sits in research never commissioned, data never collected, questions never asked. In South Asia, that quiet has let the region’s worst health problems stay understudied, underfunded, and out of sight of those who could act.  

Study flags accessibility and last-mile challenges on Mumbai Metro Aqua Line

Mumbai Metro Line 3 (Aqua Line), the city`s first fully underground metro corridor and one of its largest public transport investments, represents a major engineering achievement and has been widely welcomed by commuters. However, the overall commuter experience continues to be constrained by accessibili

Centre intensifies preparedness as El Niño threat looms

Amid uncertainty in the southwest monsoon due to the potential impact of El Niño, the government is addressing the situation with comprehensive preparedness, a clear strategy, and strong ground-level action. While challenges remain, the entire system has been activated in advance and is working proa

India is crossing a climate threshold

On June 28, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 41.3°C, four degrees above the seasonal normal. But the “feels like” temperature, which factors in humidity, showed more than 51°C. What the body experienced was very different from what the thermometer recorded.  India`

The Geography of India’s inflation

India today finds itself in an unusual position. At a time when geopolitical conflicts, trade fragmentation, and supply-chain disruptions are reshaping the global economy, the country`s macroeconomic fundamentals remain relatively upwards. Growth remains among the highest in the world, inflation has larg

How to listen to the great storytellers that the trees are

The Trees of My Country: A Natural History of India in 50 Trees By T. R. Shankar Raman, with illustrations by Manali Patil Aleph Book Company, 284 pages, Rs 1,499  





Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter