Devas: Government decision to annul deal inappropriate

Firm yet to receive notification from the govt on annulment.

Devas Multimedia has broken its silence and spoken out against the government decision to scrap the Antrix-Devas deal. Terming its agreement with Antrix, the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) “legally binding”, Devas said the government decision to scrap the deal was “inappropriate”.

But, even five days after the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) annulled the controversial S-band spectrum deal, Devas Multimedia CEO Ram Viswanathan told Business Standard that the company “had not received any notification till date from the government in respect of the cancellation of the agreement”.

CCS on February 17, had officially annulled the deal between Antrix and Devas Multimedia stating that due to the country’s strategic requirements, it would not be able to provide orbit slot in S-band to Antrix for commercial activities.

Responding to a query from this newspaper, Viswanathan said, “the government’s unilateral decision without due investigative process and without following the principles of natural justice is disturbing and inappropriate”.

He further claimed that Devas has “a legally binding contract with the Department of Space/ISRO/Antrix”.

The company, which has foreign investors like Deutsche Telekom, Columbia Capital and Telcom Ventures, said that “abrogation of a legally binding contract entered into with the government of India was a serious issue with far wider international economic ramifications for India.”