SC might allow govt more time on 2G licences
The Supreme Court assured the government on Friday that it would consider giving it more time to get the 122 cancelled 2G licences of telecom companies vacated if necessary, while saying the Centre’s doubts about the judiciary trying to “interfere” in executive policy decisions was nothing but a mere “apprehension”.
The assurance was given by a bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and K.S. Radhakrishnan while hearing the government’s review petition “limited” to the policy part of the 2G verdict. The court said: “For extension of time, if they (the government) move any application, we will consider. It (cancelled spectrum licences) can’t be left in a vacuum.”
The assurance was given after additional solicitor-general Indira Jaisingh said while the government will try to meet the four-month deadline for vacating 2G licences fixed by the court in its February 2 order, if it was not able to do so it would file an application for extension.
On the issue of “interference” in policy matters, the bench said if para 81 of the verdict, in which the “first-come-first-served” policy was discussed, was read in context, there was no reason for such “apprehensions”. The court said that it fully understood that the government’s main “apprehension” was over the grant of mining leases.
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