The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has said that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs sent a non-committal and vague report on the Essar Group-Loop Telecom issue, instead of providing a definite opinion to DoT.
The charge sheet filed by the CBI stated that DoT had asked the Ministry of Corporate Affairs? opinion on whether the issue merited a formal case or not. DoT had received a complaint from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs alleging that Loop Telecom was an Essar Group company under a corporate veil and all licenses issued to it were in violation of clause eight of the UASL guidelines.
The clause states that no single company, either directly or through its associates, should have substantial equity holding in more than one license company in the same service area for the same service area.
In the chargesheet, the CBI stated, “Investigations have revealed that the deputy director, inspection, at the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, who examined the matter in detail concluded that clause eight of the UASL guidelines had been violated. However, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, instead of conveying such a definite opinion to DoT, chose to send a non-committal vague report elaborating the significant control of the Essar Group over Loop Telecom.?
“Keeping in mind this report, DoT adopted a broad view of the matter and decided to await any fresh input before taking a final decision on the issue. This was despite several DoT officers recommending issuing show cause notices to Loop Telecom.?
