Minister of Telecommunications and IT, Kapil Sibal has asked the law ministry to examine the 2006 transaction, wherein the Tata Group exited Idea Cellular by selling their 48 per cent stake in that company to the Aditya Birla Group. The ministry has also been asked to give its opinion on a dispute between the business groups that preceded the transaction.
In February 2006, the Aditya Birla group had approached the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) asking it to direct the Tata Group to exit Idea Cellular or reduce their stake to less than 10 per cent.
The Aditya Birla Group alleged that the Tata group, which held stakes in both Idea and Tata Teleservices, was violating licence conditions that prohibit Indian companies from owning more than 10 per cent in telecom companies offering services in the same area.
The Tata Group denied these allegations. In April 2006, the Tata Group exited Idea Cellular by selling the group’s entire 48.14 per cent stake in Idea Cellular for Rs 44.06 billion to the Aditya Birla Group.
In DoT?s records of the matter, the Tata Group has pointed out that the entire argument of the Aditya Birla group was baseless as it relied on the premise that all Tata companies should be treated as a single group and not as individual companies.
