The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the government to finalise the auction of telecom spectrum and announce the winners, but with a caveat that finalisation of the results will be subject to the outcome of the cases being heard by it.
The telecom auction concluded on Wednesday after 19 days, with a total bid commitment of nearly Rs.109,000 crores from the eight players in the fray.
Recording submissions by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and rival counsel including P. Chidambaram appearing for telecom service providers, a bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Prafulla C. Pant said: "We are inclined to modify the order to the extent that the Union of India would be at liberty to finalize the auction and proceed thereafter."
Describing the auction as "tremendous success" on account of "fierce biddings", Rohatgi told the court if it modified its February 26 order, then the government will be able to collect the initial money of Rs. 28,000 crores - that has already been factored in budgetary proposals.
Allowing the government to announce successful bidders, the court observed it "can't block so much of money coming to government coffers".
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Chidambram told the court that if government wanted to collect the money, then the matter was between the court and the government, while attributing the "fierce auction" as "compulsive bidding" by service providers to stay in business.
"The competitive bidding was not really competitive, but a compulsive bidding as parties were obliged to bid because of their survival," said the submission by Chidambram and Gopal Jain appearing for the telecom service providers.
As the court expressed hope that the high bids would not affect the prices for consumers, Chidambram held this would happen in the days to come.
The court, relaxing its February 26 order, however made it clear that "but all the successful bidders shall be intimated that the said finalization is subject to the final result of the special leave petition, as well as the transferred cases".
The "competent authority of the Union of India would intimate the successful bidders to get themselves impleaded as parties and, needless to say, they are under obligation to implead themselves as they are to be heard in the matter", it said.
The said impleaded parties, the court said, "shall also file their respective affidavits stating their stand and stance in the said affidavits".
The court's order came even as Chidambaram argued the relaxation of the earlier order was like "pushing the envelope, inch by inch, towards their (centre's) goal" but Rohatgi, describing the auction as a tremendous success, said the auction fetched Rs.109,000 crores to the government that would be staggered over the years.
Urging the court to lift its order letting the government to finalise the bids, Rohatgi said the government would initially get Rs.28,000 crore that has "already been factored in budget proposals".
Rohathgi told the court the spectrum auction in 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz band across the country has put to rest all the "hypothetical questions" that were sought to be raised by the different telecom service providers.
Contesting this, Chidambram said: "We are attacking the entire design of the Notice Inviting Tenders. It is all flawed. There are so many micro classifications, that there is no principle or a common thread going through them. The mere fact that entire 8.8 MHz spectrum in 900 band in northeast went to one bidder goes to show that the condition of auction was flawed."
At this, the court said that if the "NIT is absolutely unconstitutional, then automatically the auction will go", as it directed the next hearing of matter April 16.
