Telecom secretary heads for TDSAT

TDSAT chief writes protest letter on ex-BSNL chief.

While the Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) is up in arms over the likely induction of former Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) CMD AK Sinha, the government is readying to put another of its nominees in the appellate body.

Though Department of Telecom (DoT) Secretary DS Mathur did not apply for the TDSAT post that fell vacant when Lt General DP Sehgal retired, he has been chosen for the job by the search-cum-selection committee, and a recommendation has been sent to telecom minister A Raja "" the second name in the panel is Fertilisers Secretary JS Sarma.

If Mathur is selected, the choice will be fraught with irony "" Mathur is currently heading the process of deciding what criterion is to be used for allocating spectrum to over 500 applicants and, in the event of existing operators challenging the decision in court (in this case the TDSAT), Mathur may be one of those hearing the case. (In another case before the TDSAT, though, a former DoT Secretary Vinod Vaish rescued himself from the hearings on the grounds that he had taken the decisions being challenged).

Meanwhile the battle between the TDSAT and the DoT on the appointment of Sinha to the other Member's post (the TDSAT has two members other than the chairman) has got worse. When the DoT had first proposed Sinha's name, the TDSAT was up in arms since the bulk of the cases before it pertained to BSNL.

In the event, the Chief Justice of India rejected Sinha's name. The DoT, however, forwarded the recommendation again, arguing that if Vaish could become a member, so could Sinha "" after all, as telecom secretary, Vaish had taken decisions that the telecom firms were challenging and, in a sense, Vaish was also responsible for BSNL's operations.

This time, the CJI okayed the name. So, TDSAT chief Justice Arun Kumar wrote to the DoT putting his objections on record, and the DoT's note to the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (which will now approve Sinha's candidature) has this on record.