Bharti airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular, along with the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) have requested the Supreme Court to be permitted to be a party in the 2G spectrum allocation issue, according to news reports.
Senior Advocate Fali S. Nariman, appearing for them, submitted before a bench comprising justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly that they should be heard in the matter as they have challenged the Centre’s policy of allocating GSM spectrum to CDMA operators under the dual technology norm to Reliance Communications (RCOM) and Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL).
It was alleged that the two companies were allotted GSM spectrum under the dual technology regime, ignoring several applicants who had applied before them for the licence.
In their application, the operators have pointed out that GSM operators and the COAI should be allowed to present their views before the court, as the CBI is also probing the loss caused to the public exchequer due to the government?s decision of allowing use of dual technology. It added that the government decision was illegal, arbitrary and was intended for the benefit of a few telecom companies.
The impleadment application was however opposed by RCOM and TTSL, who pleaded that there was no need to implede COAI and other GSM operators.
