The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to reply on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition that has alleged irregularities in the appointment of heads of two telecom public sector undertakings — BSNL and MTNL. The petition has accused Communications and IT Minister A. Raja and his “trusted” officials in this regard.
Accepting a joint petition filed by an NGO — Telecom Watchdog — and the Sanchar Nigam Executives' Association pleading that the procedure for appointment of heads of BSNL and MTNL was arbitrary and it should be quashed, a Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra issued notices to the Centre and the Department of Telecommunications seeking their response.
The court also issued notices to Kuldeep Singh and R.K. Upadhyay, who have been recommended for the posts of Chairman and Managing Director in MTNL and BSNL respectively.