The Supreme Court?s verdict in the 2G spectrum case continues to impact the telecom space.
As per the verdict, the telecom licences of 122 companies were cancelled. These included new players such as Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited, Uninor, Loop Telecom, etc.
Thereafter, these companies had approached the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) seeking damages in this context under the bilateral investment protection pacts (BIPA).
Now, DoT has requested Goolam Essaji Vahanvati, Attorney General of India for his views on the subject. DoT has asked Vahanvati to comment on whether these companies have a strong enough business case to seek damages under BIPA.
DoT is of the opinion that the verdict impacted both Indian and overseas investors and was a result of an act of the court and not the government.
DoT is also clarifying the timeline within which these overseas investors can invoke the BIPA. The timeline is either from the date of licence cancellation or from the time DoT moved a presidential reference in the Supreme Court.
It also wants an opinion on whether foreign investors ought to first explore other legal options before sending notices to the Indian government under the BIPA.
Further, DoT wants clarity on the government?s position in case foreign investors invoke BIPA after winning licenses under new auction process. It also wants the Attorney General to suggest conditions that ought to be incorporated in the spectrum auction process to ensure that foreign investors winning spectrum do not claim damages under BIPA.
