Telecom Lead India: The Supreme Court will ponder
extending its August 31 deadline given to finish the process of fresh
auctioning of 2G spectrum cancelled licenses.
However, the court has said that it will only consider
the issue only if the Telecom Secretary gives an undertaking that its judgment
would be implemented. The Bench will hear the matter on Monday.
The bench expects the government to stick to the deadline
given in the application and said that it will not accept the undertaking from
officers below the rank of secretary.
Earlier, the government filed an application through the
Telecom Ministry, in which it said that it needed time till November 12 to
start the auction and another 40 days to complete the procedure and allocate
licenses and spectrum.
The application said that the entire exercise would be
completed in three months and 23 days.
On August 7, the Empowered Group of Ministers took the
decision to approach the apex court for extension of the time.
The deadline had already been extended from original June 2 deadline to August
31, 2012
In February 2 ruling, the Supreme Court cancelled 122
licenses for the 2G spectrum and directed their fresh auctioning by June 2.
The licences that were cancelled were granted in 2008 by
then telecom minister A Raja, who was jailed for corruption and
conspiracy.
Recently, the Union cabinet reduced the reserve a2G
auction price Rs 14,000 crore from earlier proposed Rs 18,000 crore for 5MHz.
