HC pulls up DoT on spectrum allocation

Reacting to this statement,the Bench curtly said,We will see how transparent it really was8230; we will sure find this out.The debate started with the court unable to get a satisfactory answer as to the specific date on which the department allocated spectrum.

We find it very strange that the public exchequer is used in this way. It spectrum is a very valuable resource,we are astonished, the Bench said.

Todays hearing comes even as telecom minister A Raja is set to begin his second innings at Sanchar Bhawan.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Arvind Gupta challenging the governments spectrum policy. He had alleged that the DoT alloted it to new operators at a price way below the market rates. Gupta alleged that DoT violated self-established norms of net worth and cross holding criteria while allocating 2G spectrum.

Prima facie we find that spectrum has been allocated in the worst manner and public exchequers have lost thousands of crores of rupees, Justice Mudgal observed. The case will now be next heard on July 8 by a Bench led by the Delhi High Court chief justice A P Shah.