International tribunal rejects claims against India in 2G licence case

The government on Monday said an international arbitration tribunal has dismissed all claims by Tenoch Holdings Limited (Cyprus) and two others against India in entirety in relation to cancellation of Letters of Intent for providing 2G telecom services.

The arbitration arose out of the cancellation of Letters of Intent for the issuance of telecommunications licences to provide 2G services in five telecommunications circles in India by reason, inter alia, of India's essential security interests, it said in a statement.

Tenoch Holdings Limited (Cyprus), Maxim Naumchenko (Russian Federation) and Andrey Poluektov (Russian Federation) had initiated arbitration proceedings against India under the bilateral investment treaties with Cyprus and Russian Federation.

On July 19, the Tribunal, seated at the Hague, Netherlands rendered its Award in the arbitration brought by the three entities under the agreement between the Russian Federation and India for the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments, and the agreement between the India and the Cyprus for the Mutual Promotion and Protection of Investments.

"All claims were dismissed in their entirety," the release said.

Bilateral investment treaties between two countries allows a private investor to initiate dispute arbitration proceedings against the government to protect its investments.