The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed Additional Solicitor-General A.S. Chandhiok to take instructions from the Union government to respond to a public interest litigation petition seeking judicial intervention for an inquiry into an allegation that certain private cellular operators provided 3G mobile services even in circles where they did not have a licence.
The petitioner, Supreme Court lawyer Yakesh Anand, said private mobile operators had created a cartel and were providing 3G mobile services without licences by entering into arrangements among themselves to share the 3G spectrum.
The petitioner has particularly mentioned top cellular companies like Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellullar and Vodafone.
The petitioner said the three together had caused a loss of Rs.20,000 crore to the exchequer by illegally using the spectrum of other licence-holders.
Bharti Airtel has licences only for 13 circles, but it was providing services in 17 circles — Haryana, Kolkata, Gujarat and Maharashtra; similarly Idea Cellullar has got licences to provide services only in 11 circles, but it was providing it in 15 circles — Delhi, Mumbai, Bihar and Karnataka; and the Vodafone has licences for only nine circles, but it was making the services available in 12 circles — Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala, the petitioner submitted.
Mr. Anand said he had moved the Court after the DoT, the Central Vigilance Commission and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India failed to take action on his representations to them on the misuse of the spectrum.
He prayed for an investigation into the charges either by the Vigilance Commission or the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Earlier, Mr. Chandhiok, in his submission before a Division Bench of the Court comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Sanjiv Khanna, submitted that the government was seized of the matter and action would be taken against those violating the norms.
The matter will come up for hearing on November 3.
