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The Planning Commission has raised objections to the Telecom Ministry's proposal to seek a Presidential Reference on Supreme Court's 2G ruling.
The Commission said that the best course of action for the Government would be to implement the Court's order cancelling the licences and complete the 2G auction in good faith.
“There is nothing to be gained by making a Presidential Reference on the lines of the draft (prepared by Telecom Ministry),” Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, said in a note sent to top Government functionaries including the Finance Minister, Law Minister and the Telecom Minister.
In February, the Supreme Court had cancelled 122 mobile licences issued in 2010 faulting the Government for following a flawed First-Come-First-Served policy. The Telecom Ministry sent a proposal to the Cabinet in which it wanted to question the apex court's ruling through a Presidential reference.
Among other things, the Telecom Ministry wanted to know from the court whether all licences issued on FCFS policy up till 2007 should be cancelled. The other issue was whether the Government should cancel permits given to dual technology players as well.
The Cabinet, which met last week, did not take a decision and has asked for an opinion from the Solicitor General. According to the Planning Commission, the arguments given by the Telecom Ministry were not convincing. “I am not convinced that these concerns are valid. I also feel that raising these issues will create unnecessary problems,” Mr Ahluwalia said in the note to senior Cabinet members.
“The reference as currently drafted will only provoke headlines to the effect that Government is unclear about policy and this is bound to aggravate uncertainty about what the Government will do to these licences,” he added.
Mr Ahluwalia said that it was much better to proceed on the assumption that earlier licences are not affected and then fight it out in Court if this is challenged. “Reopening licences issued 10 years ago, would have a disastrous effect on the investment climate and would affect confidence. The Government should have no hesitation in fighting in Court against any such challenge if it arises and it should make its position known to minimise uncertainty,” he said.
According to Mr Ahluwalia, making a Presidential Reference also poses problems if there is a delay in responding on the part of the Court as it happened in the case of the Punjab Reference in 2004. “This will make it difficult for the Government to act until the Court has responded,” he noted.
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