The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is seeking legal opinion on whether the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has the authority to recommend termination of mobile permits, according to news reports. The TRAI had recommended cancellation of 62 licences in November on grounds of the operator?s failure and delay in rolling out mobile services.
The DoT was, however, in favour of levying only a penalty. But wary of being embroiled in any controversy, the ministry thought it prudent to seek legal advice on the matter. According to an internal note, the DoT also wants legal opinion on whether it should send back the proposal to TRAI if it decided to modify or accept only a part of the regulator?s demands.
Prior to this, it was believed that the DoT was against cancellation as new entrants had invested significant resources to rollout networks, while also adding that termination could send wrong signals to foreign investors in addition to embroiling the government is a long legal battle.
