SC gives govt 3 months to auction 2G licenses

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave the central government three more months till August 31 to fulfill all requirements and auction 122 2G licenses which were cancelled by it in February this year.

The apex court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan, while extending the time by three months, observed that the government was aware that something was wrong or this could have been avoided if a little effort was made.

While granting three months more to the government for auctioning potential 2G licenses, the court gave time till September 7 to all the service operators whose licenses have been cancelled to continue providing services.

The apex court by its February 2, 2012, order had cancelled all the 122 licenses that were granted by former telecom minister A. Raja on and after January 10, 2008.

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The court had said that all these licenses should be allocated after carrying out their auction. The court had given the government four months' time till June 2 to complete the process of auctioning the cancelled licenses. This was also the date when the licenses that were cancelled were to be terminated.

However, the government cited procedural difficulties and sought 400 days' time to complete the process of auctioning the cancelled 2G licenses. The court did not accept the government's plea and gave it three months' additional time to comply with its directions.