2G verdict: 'Scrapping of licences was like throwing baby with bathwater'

The philosophy of maximising public gains through auction as the only means to allocate resources has proved counter-productive, says Jayesh Desai, a nominee director on the Uninor board in 2010-11

Jayesh Desai, a former consultant who spent a large number of years with EY, was a nominee director on the board of Uninor during 2010-11, when he worked with Unitech Infrastructure. He spoke to Anjuli Bhargava on the unexpected 2G judgment, the telecom industry as it is today and the unintended consequences of the 2012 Supreme Court judgment on the allocation of spectrum. Edited excerpts:
 
Did the recent 2G judgment come as a complete shock to you?
 
Way back in 2011, when the charge sheet was filed, I didn’t think the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had enough