TDSAT rejected an affidavit filed by GSM operators association COAI, which accused the government of changing its policy on spectrum allocation in a covert and malafide manner.
NEW DELHI: Telecom tribunal TDSAT on Wednesday rejected an affidavit filed by GSM operators association COAI, which accused the government of changing its policy on spectrum allocation in a covert and malafide manner.
The Cellular operators Association of India (COAI) had filed this affidavit as part of the ongoing legal battle against the government's decisions on allocation of additional spectrum and usage of dual technology.
Turning down the plea of the GSM lobby group, TDSAT Chairman Justice Arun Kumar said it will complicate the issue.
"We would take stock of that later during the hearing," said Kumar.
In its additional affidavit, the COAI had questioned the government's move to allocate 'GSM spectrum' to CDMA operators, saying it was 'malafide' and intended to benefit Reliance Communications.
Nearly a fortnight ago, the registry of the tribunal had returned a reply filed by the COAI containing identical allegations on the ground that there was no direction from TDSAT for submitting such a reply.
At that time, the GSM lobby group had responded to the affidavit filed by the Department of Telecom, which said the issue of dual technology could not be challenged as it was a policy matter.
After the registry's refusal to accept its reply, COAI had again filed its reply in the form of an additional affidavit, which was rejected on Wednesday.
Following the rejection, the GSM lobby group moved a motion for special mention before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, which too was rejected.
In its affidavit COAI had said, "Crossover allocation of spectrum is not permissible under the existing policy and licensing regime and the policy change has been carried out in a covert and legally malafide manner."
The GSM association also said it appeared that one particular company's representatives were at hand to receive the 'in-principle' approvals after office hours.
"That one particular company (Reliance) was in position to expedite and make payment of over Rs 1,650 crore overnight to act upon the in-principle approval and thus seal its position in the priority queue for spectrum," COAI had said.
The Association said the government has changed the National Telecom Policy, 1999, which was approved by the Cabinet. "The said policy cannot be changed by the government without express approval of the Cabinet," it added.
It also has stated in the affidavit that the policy decision by DoT had been taken in violation of TRAI Act, which mandates that if government does not agree with the regulator, it has to refer the matter back to TRAI for reconsideration, COAI said.
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