The director of telecom firm Etisalat DB (Swan Telecom) approached the Delhi high court on Monday seeking an injunction order against the Centre for levelling allegations that he was connected to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
The director of telecom firm Etisalat DB (Swan Telecom) approached the Delhi high court (HC) on Monday seeking an injunction order against the Centre for levelling allegations that he was connected to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
In a petition, he sought to know why his company could not be permitted to invest Rs380 crore in India.
Shahid Balwa, the controversial director of Etisalat DB — named in the comptroller and auditor general’s report as one of the companies that got spectrum cheaply under A Raja’s tenure — has dragged the ministry of home affairs (MHA) to court crying foul against its red flag.
Swan was granted licences at cheap rates in 13 circles. It also acquired two more circles when another new licensee, Allianz Infratech merged with it.
In his petition, Balwa said that in an official note, MHA had recommended to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) denial of permission to Etisalat to invest money in a Chennai-based firm, citing as one of the four reasons “that Shahid Balwa shouldn’t be associated with the company either as a director or in other capacity”.
“The high reputation earned by the Balwa family over the past 100 years has been destroyed by a stroke of pen by some officer in MHA”, the petition said, tracing Balwa’s origins as a business family in Gujarat that prospered with time.
Justice S Muralidhar however gave time to MHA to file response by March 7.
“The petitioner at no point of time had any connection, association, linkage or dealing with the so called person by the name of Dawood Ebrahim or any of his family members or associates in any manner whatsoever,” Balwa said in his petition, blaming MHA for his business losses.
Balwa argued in the petition that neither MHA nor FIPB could have any say in who should or should not be appointed a director on board of an Indian company.
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