Hello, Your Lordship

This isn’t a lot of money but there are other questions although both MTNL and the Supreme Court Registrar General, when contacted by The Sunday Express dismissed any issues of propriety or conflict of interest.

» For one, the receipt of the phones and benefits contradict judges’ conduct rules, prescribed by the Supreme Court itself: ‘‘A judge should not seek any financial benefit in the form of a perquisite or privilege attached to his office unless it is clearly available. Any doubt in this behalf must be got resolved and clarified through the Chief Justice.’’

In this case, however, Court Registrar R C Gandhi, in his letter to MTNL, says that the Chief Justice has ‘‘given his consent’’ to the agreement.

» Incidentally, the Supreme Court is hearing a case which could affect MTNL. Private cellular operators have taken the Government to court claiming that wireless-in-local-loop mobile phones should be subject to the same licensing and tariff regulations as their cellphones.

» MTNL’s discounted offer to the judges is not available to any customer, individual or corporate since it needs, as MTNL officials themselves admit, a clearance from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

» After the Supreme Court accepted the phones, according to inter-office correspondence, a copy of which is with The Sunday Express, MTNL admitted on July 24: ‘‘It is desirable to have better relations and goodwill of the Supreme Court.’’ z ‘‘In lieu’’ of this MTNL offer, the Supreme Court Registrar has allowed MTNL to instal a microwave tower on 500 sq feet of the Supreme Court Lawyers’ Chambers terrace.

Below, the details of how the arrangement was arrived at, as per official letters exchanged between MTNL and the Supreme Court:

» On May 8, MTNL’s General Manager S S Sirohi wrote to L C Bhadoo, Supreme Court Registrar General, referring to a meeting he had with Bhadoo and the Chief Justice of India the previous day. In the letter, a copy of which is with The Sunday Express, MTNL offered free Nokia cellphones (costing Rs 7,399 a piece) with other benefits to all 26 judges, including the Chief Justice.

» According to this letter, the ‘‘facilities’’ were being offered ‘‘in lieu of rent’’ of 500 square feet on the terrace of the Lawyers’ Chambers in the Supreme Court complex to instal an antenna to boost signals.

» The next day, MTNL promptly got a reply from Supreme Court Registrar R C Gandhi saying that while all features of the package were ‘‘accepted,’’ they wanted 29 connections instead of 26! Reason: the three registrars needed ‘‘continuous continuity’’ with the ‘‘Honourable judges.’’

» The very next day, the 29 Nokia cellphones, with duly activated SIM cards and Internet CDs, were delivered to the Supreme Court and received by the court’s Assistant Registrar Pradeep K Sharma.

When contacted, Bhadoo said: ‘‘Private companies are also after us with discounts. We have opted for a Government company.’’ Asked about propriety and conflict of interest given that the court is hearing a case that could affect MTNL, he said: ‘‘What conflict of interest? The Government is giving us funds in the form of our salaries. That doesn’t mean we cannot hear any cases against the Government.’’

In response to a faxed questionnaire sent by The Sunday Express to MTNL Chairman Narinder Sharma, J M Misra, Chief General Manager, Cellular Mobile, wrote: ‘‘The need to generate such goodwill with the corporate and bulk customers is all the more essential on account of the fact that MTNL is operating cellular services in a highly competitive and saturated cellular market.’’

He said that no deposit has been taken as per MTNL’s corporate package (for more than 10 connections). And that similar deals have been ‘‘finalised’’ with other govt organisations and PSUs.

On the question of conflict of interest given that there was a case before the Supreme Court which could affect MTNL, Misra said: ‘‘MTNL is providing both WiLL and cellular services on an equal footing.’’