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Russian conglomerate Sistema JSFC has sent another missive to the Government seeking prompt resolution to the 2G imbroglio.
The Russian giant, which owns 56 per cent in Sistema Shyam, said that the Indian Government is bound under a bilateral treaty to protect its investments.
This is the second such move from Sistema after the Supreme Court cancelled its licences. Earlier, it had invoked the bilateral investment treaty signed between India and Russia and set a deadline of August 28 to resolve the dispute. However, the Department of Telecom, in its response to the company's notice' said that since Sistema Shyam had filed a review petition with the Supreme Court, the dispute had not yet arisen.
In the latest communication to the Government, Sistema said that a dispute had arisen on February 2 when the apex court cancelled the licences. “Indeed, India' failure to abide by the agreement despite its stated commitment to do so, has already caused Sistema to suffer substantial injury,” stated a letter from Sistema's legal counsel adding that a meeting should be organised promptly to resolve the dispute.
In February, Sistema JSFC had invoked the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between Russia and India to protect its investments in 2G mobile firm Sistema Shyam.
Formal notice
Sistema sent a formal notice to Indian authorities, notifying them that the cancellation of licences is contrary to India's obligations under the treaty. The Russian major wants the Government to settle the dispute relating to the revocation of Sistema Shyam's telecom licences within six months.
“If the dispute is not amicably resolved by August 28, 2012, Sistema reserves the right to commence proceedings against The Republic of India as provided in the BIT,” the company had said.
Apart from Sistema, the Russian Government has invested $600 million in the venture. The Russian Prime Minister, Mr Vladimir Putin, had himself initiated this investment in the Indian company.
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