2 Feb 2012- exactly a year after A Raja was put behind bars- the SC decisions are out. The SC has cancelled 122 licenses awarded by former telecom minister A Raja. Thank you Justice Ganguly for delivering a decision before retiring.
The judges have directed TRAI to come up with recommendations -within two months- for issuing licenses and auctioning spectrum. That’s sensible and the admin MUST do its job within the allotted time. Then consumers will not be affected.
As per the ruling, the telecom operators- whose licenses had been cancelled- could keep operating for four months, while TRAI and the government carried out their work for issuing new licenses.
The licenses, if sanctioned afresh, are not likely to fetch the amount, which will justify 176K graft charge, for the world is going through a financial strait. Yet, it would fetch substantially and that would further substantiate the charge that Andimuthu Raja & Co defrauded the nation royally and hence would pave the way for eventual sentencing of Raja. Ms Kanimozhi may return to her cell with some others who have been freed because of delay in persecution; for, if Raja is nailed his associates cannot be left alone.
The court found the "first-come-first-served" policy unconstitutional. And first-come-first-served was the basis of government policy in many sectors, especially that of mining. Anyone who has some understanding of how have these licenses been granted would be feeling happy that now another Pandora’s box is waiting to be opened. True, it also indicates fingers at a bad trend : judicial activism. Yet, when there is such gross violations we’ve to admit exceptions. But what is the guarantee that this mode- of court intervening in administrative matters- would not be misused? In that sense it’s also a dangerous precedent. In this context, what comes to mind is the famous quotation of Charles Dickens- “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”!
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