SC admits appeal of Cellular Operators Association

The Supreme Court today admitted the appeal of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) against the order of the Telecom Disputes and Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) in the controversy over dual spectrum allocation policy.

The tribunal had rejected the petition of the operators and held in March this year that the licence conditions did not grant  them a vested right up to 15 MHz. It held that the operators did not have any vested right to receive GSM spectrum beyond 6.2 Mhz. There was no malafide and denial of level playing field, the tribunal’s judgment had said.

The Supreme Court bench consisting of Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice Cyriac Joseph, after hearing the operators, also issued notice to the Telecom Authority of India, Reliance Communications Ltd, Tata Teleservices Ltd and other telecom companies.

The court will hear the case after the parties file their pleas within a month.