Attorney General of India Goolam E Vahanvati has endorsed the Comptroller and Auditor General of India?s (CAG) view that Adonis Properties, a subsidiary of Unitech Wireless, was not eligible for obtaining the mobile licences it currently holds.
Vahanvati?s opinion is also applicable to Loop Telecom, Videocon, Allianz Infratech and S Tel. CAG had said that these companies too were subject to the same violations as Unitech Wireless and they too did not did not fulfill the eligibility criteria for obtaining the permit.
In 2010, CAG had asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to explain why Unitech Wireless was granted a mobile licence, as it was unable to fulfill the eligibility criteria for obtaining the permit.
CAG added that Unitech Wireless had changed the object clause of the Memorandum of Association (MoA) from real estate to telecom and also enhanced its authorised capital by passing a new resolution. CAG said that both these alterations were certified as registered by the registrar of companies (RoC), subsequent to the firm submitting its application to DoT for a UAS licence. These alterations became applicable only in May 2008, while Unitech was given telecom licence in January that year.
In response, Unitech Wirelss said that DoT had stated that the effective date of alteration of the objects clause was the date of resolution passed by the shareholders, while adding that this had taken place prior to it applying for mobile permits.
Thereafter, DoT had asked the Ministry of Law and Justice?s opinion on whether the effective date of change in a company’s Memorandum of Association should be the date on which the company’s board cleared it or when the RoC issued a certificate.
In his response to DoT, Vahanvati said he disagreed with Unitech’s stance, while adding that the date on which the RoC issued the certificate should be taken as the effective date. He added that the authorised capital stands enhanced only from the date of certification by the RoC.
