A report by a leading Indian judge has found the country’s ex-telecoms minister and ex-telecoms secretary guilty of clearing 13 “letters of intent” for 2G licences by Swan Telecom just the day before these licences were granted, according to media…
A report by a leading Indian judge has found the country’s ex-telecoms minister and ex-telecoms secretary guilty of clearing 13 “letters of intent” for 2G licences by Swan Telecom just the day before these licences were granted, according to media reports.
According to a report in the Economic Times, Justice Shivraj Patil said that both the former telecoms minister A Raja and the former telecoms secretary Siddhartha Behura had decided that Swan fulfilled the requisite conditions
This was reportedly despite omissions in the information the company had provided and doubts within the department of telecommunications itself.
The UAE incumbent Etisalat subsequently acquired a 45% stake in Swan, which was then renamed Etisalat DB.
According to the newspaper’s report, Swan submitted a company secretary’s certificate establishing its prescribed net worth and paid-up capital requirements in order to be eligible for service licences in 13 areas.
Some details were not available and there was also doubt as to whether the application complied with a particular equity clause.
The newspaper reports that in his conclusion, Patil states that on the basis of the filings, this act of granting licences could lead to an arbitrary exercise of power that results in favouritism.
A Raja stepped down as telecoms secretary in November 2010 after allegations of favouritism in allocating 2G spectrum licences.
