The Supreme Court Registry on Thursday declined to accept the Centre’s plea for modifying its 2012 verdict in the 2G spectrum case, according to sources.
The 2012 ruling had stipulated that the State must utilize the auction route when transferring or disposing of the nation’s natural resources.
Sources indicated to the Daily Guradian that the apex court registry dismissed the government’s plea as “misconceived,” deeming it an effort to essentially seek a review of the judgment under the guise of clarification.
The Registrar declined to receive it in accordance with the provisions of Order XV Rule 5 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013.
The SC rule states that the Registrar can reject a petition if it lacks reasonable cause, is frivolous, or contains scandalous matter. However, the petitioner can appeal this decision to the Court within 15 days. According to this, the Centre can appeal against the Registrar’s order.
On February 2, 2012, the apex court annulled 2G spectrum licenses issued to various firms during A Raja’s tenure as the telecom minister in January 2008. On April 22, Attorney General R Venkataramani, representing the Centre, mentioned an application before a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice J B Pardiwala.
Urging the urgent listing of the application, the Attorney General informed the bench that the plea seeks modification of the 2012 verdict as the Centre intends to grant 2G spectrum licenses in other cases too. The Centre, in its plea, requests exemption from auctioning the 2G spectrum for non-commercial purposes in exercising sovereign functions.
It seeks clarifications allowing the government to consider spectrum assignment through an administrative process if determined through due process, or if auctioning is not preferred due to technical or economic reasons.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation, one of the petitioners in the February 2012 verdict, opposed the application. He argued that the apex court has settled the issue by ruling that auction is the sole mode for granting licenses for natural resources like spectrum.