The Supreme Court has asked Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) to present its petition against the government?s spectrum allocation policy to the High Court.
Prior to this, TTSL had claimed that the spectrum allotted to GSM operators, beyond 6.2 Mhz on the basis of the subscriber-linked criteria was unconstitutional. TTSL said that it had been allocated less quantity of start-up spectrum.
The operator had challenged the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal?s (TDSAT) order that dismissed its petition requesting the government to withdraw excess spectrum from GSM operators, as this was allotted contrary to the government?s telecom policy.
TDSAT had stated that the policy decision adopted by the government to allot spectrum beyond 6.2 Mhz was neither unconstitutional nor contrary to the national policy. The tribunal had said, ?It cannot be said that the policy decision to allot spectrum beyond 6.2 Mhz was adopted without taking into consideration all relevant factors and on irrelevant and extraneous consideration not germane therefore. The petitioner has failed to produce any material to show that the policy decision adopted by the government is arbitrary or purely discriminatory in nature.?
