HC disposes of plea on misuse of 3G license terms by telcos

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday disposed of a plea seeking a CBI probe into alleged misuse of 3G spectrum licensing conditions by various telecom operators, including Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone, saying the matter was already being heard by TDSAT.

A division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri said the case was at an advanced stage of hearing before Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT).

"We are not inclined to pass any order at this stage," the bench, also comprising Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, said.

However, the court granted liberty to petitioner Yakesh Anand, a lawyer, to revive his PIL after the verdict of TDSAT.

The observations came after the counsel, appearing for the service providers, said the matter before TDSAT was at an advanced stage of hearing and the judgement is likely to be pronounced soon.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) had issued notices to various telecom firms directing them to stop providing 3G services in those circles for which they do not have valid licences.

Against DoT's order, the telecom firms had approached TDSAT which granted an interim stay on the direction of the department till a final disposal of the matter.

The PIL accused three leading cellular service providers of providing the 3G mobile services in all circles despite having the licence to provide them only in a few circles.