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Continue 4th licence bidding: Bombay HC

Our Bureau

MUMBAI, July 19

A DIVISION Bench of the Bombay High Court today allowed the Government to go ahead with the bidding process for the award of the fourth cellular licences, following an intervening petition filed by Bharti Cellular Ltd.

On July 17, the same Division Bench had passed an interim order restraining the Government from making its final decision on the fourth cellular licence, in a public interest litigation filed by the Federation of VSNL Employees' Union.

The order had also permitted VSNL to bid for the licences, the PIL having contended that VSNL was unfairly disallowed from bidding.

The intervening petition of Bharti Cellular pointed out that despite this, VSNL had not submitted its bid, considering July 19 was the last day for the final round; and that in view of this, there was no point in continuing with the earlier order.

Bharti also pointed that the tendering process had started in an exhaustive manner on March 23, 2001 and that two stages of bidding were already over. In this, Bharti had been declared successful in six and had been shortlisted for five more cellular lic ences. The PIL had come too late, it contended.

The petitioners had written to the Prime Minister in September last on the issue, and they were obviously alive to the problem, said lawyers Mr Darius Khambatta and Mr Lynn Pereira, appearing on behalf of Bharti.

The petitioners were, as such guilty of delay, they said and it was too late to hold back the process.

The VSNL union sought some time; however, when the court resumed, there was still no assurance from them that they were indeed going to bid for the licences.

Bharti, meanwhile, also submitted an affidavit from DoT that VSNL was not among the bidders.

However, a Madras High Court direction of July 18 also restrains the Government from going ahead with the bidding process.