The Hindu : SC stays TDSAT order on supply of documents

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 26, 2003

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SC stays TDSAT order on supply of documents

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI April 25. The Supreme Court today stayed an order of the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) asking the Government to give copies of certain files to cellular operators on which it had claimed privilege.

These sensitive files related to the decision of the Government to allow basic operators to offer limited mobility (WLL) services. The tribunal is hearing petitions from cellular operators challenging this decision.

A Bench, comprising Y.K. Sabharwal and H.K. Sema, passed the order, admitting an appeal from the Centre seeking a stay of the April 8 order of the TDSAT.

It said the issue relating to the claim of privilege over the files required ``threadbare examination''. While allowing the proceedings, the Bench said the Tribunal could direct production of records by the government for its perusal.

The Bench also recorded a statement made on behalf of cellular operators that they would not seek to inspect the files that were directed to be produced by the tribunal.

Earlier, the Attorney General, Soli Sorabjee, and Solicitor General, Kirit Raval, appearing for the Union Government, submitted that if the parties with commercial interest were shown the ``noting'' of the officers on the issue, ``it will cause grave prejudice to the administration''.

However, they submitted that the Government had no hesitation in showing the records to the tribunal.

Mr. Sorabjee said if the Government had suppressed any of its decision, it would have been proper on the part of the cellular operators to ask for the files. All the decisions of the Government and their basis had been informed to the tribunal and the parties before it.

He said the demand for the ``notings'' would virtually mean revealing the identity of the officers and in these matters of commercial rivalry, parties wanted to know which officer was in favour of which company.

Appearing for cellular operators, senior counsel and former Union Law Minister, Ram Jethmalani, said the cellular operators had invested Rs. 21,000 crores on the assurance that no other players would be allowed to offer mobile services.

However, the Government had allowed basic operators, the WLL services on a platter and did not even charge them the statutory duties amounting to over Rs. 9,000 crores. This would cut down the business of cellular operators by 93 per cent, he said.

Mr. Jethmalani alleged that the Rs. 9,000 crores, which should have gone to the exchequer, had gone to the pockets of bureaucrats and politicians. And by refusing to make public these files, the Government was only trying to shield the corrupt officials responsible for the malafide decision in favour of the basic operators, he said.

In its order, the tribunal had stated that at a time when allegations of extraneous considerations or malafide had been made, it was more appropriate that any claim of privilege, even if there was one, should be waived and asked the Government to produce the relevant files.

Speaking in Parliament, the Communications Minister, Arun Shourie, maintained that there was ``very little in those documents''.

He said the Government was opposed to making the files public on grounds of principle. The case before the telecom tribunal concerned ``private disputants in a commercial dispute'' and if every file was shown ``it will open floodgates'.

He also suggested that the tribunal should not have asked the Government to produce the relevant files.

``When the Supreme Court had sent back the case, it had said the telecom tribunal should proceed with the matter on record.''

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