Telecom cos rule out undertaking

NEW DELHI, Aug 9: The country's private telecom operators will not be giving any individual undertakings to the Delhi High Court when it ...

NEW DELHI, Aug 9: The country8217;s private telecom operators will not be giving any individual undertakings to the Delhi High Court when it meets again tomorrow on the telecom court case. This was decided in a meeting the operators had with attorney general Soli Sorabjee at his Niti Bagh residence on Sunday.

Instead, a compromise formula has been worked out whereby the government will give an undertaking to collect these undertakings from the telecom companies at a later date, if need be 8212; at most, a letter from the cellular and the basic operators will be submitted to the court. The operators argued that they would not be able to give an unconditional undertaking to the court.

In the case challenging the telecom bailout package by the Delhi Science Forum on July 28, the court had suggested that the operators give an undertaking that if the new Parliament did not ratify the bailout, the operators would agree to go back to the pre-bailout licensing agreement. After the court hearing, some of the telecomoperators had argued that this was not possible 8212; since Parliament debates tend to linger on for a long time, and there was no certainty that Parliament would actually pass it immediately, their lawyers would not permit them to give any open-ended undertaking. Also, if they were to withdraw their cases immediately, and Parliament did not ratify the new package when it reconvended, they companies would be literally stuck up the creek without a paddle.

The private telecom operators are also looking for an assurance on what action the government will take if they actually withdraw the various cases they have filed in different courts 8212; these include cases on delays by government agencies in giving them clearances, in giving them points on inter-connectivity, and so on. Essentially, the operators are trying to find some way out of having to withdraw their court cases and yet migrate to the new revenue-sharing arrangement 8212; under the terms of the bailout package, however, withdrawing of their cases is apre-condition to the migration.

The operators are also trying to get some assurance from the government that it will not insist on them paying any arrears right now. Under the terms of the bailout package, the operators have to pay up 15 per cent of their arrears by August 15 8212; now if the package has to be ratified by the new Parliament, the operators don8217;t want to have to pay this money right now.

If, however, the operators give an undertaking to their court, this would leave them no room for manoeuvre. If, instead, they are to give this to the government at a later date, this will give them some time to be able to work out with the government the specifics of the undertakings, and the specific obligations on both sides.