Additional spectrum: Court reserves order on challenging jurisdiction

A special court here on Monday reserved its order on two firms' plea challenging its jurisdiction to try them in the 2002 additional spectrum allocation case on the ground that the case was not related to the 2G spectrum issue.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge O.P. Saini fixed July 16 for delivering the order on the plea of Hutchison Max and Sterling Cellular, which were charge sheeted in the 2002.

The CBI apprised the court that the matter was part of the 2G spectrum allocation case, the probe in which was being monitored by the Supreme Court.

However, advocate Sidharth Luthra, who is representing the accused companies, said the special court was constituted to deal with matters pertaining to the 2G scam only and the additional spectrum case was not covered under it.

The CBI filed a charge sheet on December 21, 2012, against former telecom secretary Shyamal Ghosh and three telecom firms -- Bharti Cellular Ltd., Hutchison Max Telecom Pvt. Ltd. (Vodafone India Ltd.), and Sterling Cellular Ltd. (Vodafone Mobile Service Ltd.).

The case relates to the department of telecommunications (DoT) allocating additional spectrum in a decision taken on January 31, 2002, when the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was in power, allegedly resulting in a loss of Rs.846 crore to the exchequer.