No action against Idea till next hearing: HC tells DoT

In an interim relief to Aditya Birla group firm Idea Cellular, the Delhi High Court today directed DoT not to take any coercive action against the company, which is locked in a legal battle over its merger with Spice Communications, till next date of hearing.

"Status quo shall be maintained till next date of hearing in respect of Punjab and Karnataka circle. No coercive steps shall be taken," the bench comprising Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice Siddharth Mridul said.

It also directed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) not to take any coercive action in all six circles. The matter has now been listed for further hearing on July 28.

The direction of the court came on a plea of Idea, challenging a single bench order on July 4.

The single bench had said that the merger of Spice Communications with Aditya Birla group company, which it bought in 2008, can not be allowed for Idea's failure to comply with the licence and merger guidelines.

Spice Communication, which was operating in two circles Karnataka and Punjab since 1996, came to limelight after it acquired licences in another four circles in 2008 under the then telecom minister A Raja.

Following the acquisition of licences, Idea bought BK Modi-promoted Spice Communications for Rs 2,176 crore in June 2008, which led to the over-lapping of its licences, including Punjab and Karnataka.

According to the rules, a telecom company can not merge with another telecom company having licences in the same circles. However, the company can do so after completion of three years of grant of licence.

On July 4, the single bench had also slapped a fine of Rs 1 crore on the company for not giving the correct information to the court.

Prior to this, on February 5, 2010, the high court had sanctioned the merger of Spice with Idea. However, it stayed the scheme March 30, 2011, after DoT made an application against it. DoT had said that merger was impermissible as some of the overlapping licences are less than three years old.

Later, Idea and Spice moved applications to vacate the order. Keeping in view of the urgency of the matter, the high court directly started the final hearing on the dispute.