A Petition has been filed before a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court consisting of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna praying for a court-monitored probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) into the entire issue of provision of 3G mobile services.

The Petition has been filed by Advocate Yakesh Anand to highlight the irregularities and illegalities being committed by various private telecom operators in India, in providing 3G services in different parts of the country, in violation of license conditions and in violations of various directions issued by the Department of Telecommunication.

TOI reports:“The PIL claims that the exchequer incurred a loss of Rs 20,000 crores since the government has not realized the true value of spectrum that has been given to telecom operators.”

The Petitioner has alleged that various private operators have entered into agreements among themselves for using each other’s network & spectrum and provide 3G services, even in those areas and circles in India, where they neither have the licence nor any 3G spectrum, thus entering into 3G area of operation through the back-door.

The Petitioner has further contended that this private arrangement amongst some of the telecom operators amount to defrauding the Government of crores of rupees towards spectrum fees.  The operators have avoided to make payment of 3G spectrum fee and by passed the roll out obligations imposed by the DOT on the 3G licencees and also vitiate the auctioning process adopted by the DOT, not only for the present but also in future.

The Delhi High Court has today asked Additional Solicitor General A. S. Chandioke to convey the Government's stand before the Court regarding the allegation that major telecom operators - like Airtel, Idea, and Vodafone are misusing 3G spectrum in violation of the existing license conditions. Further, the Court also sought Government’s stand regarding the allegation that inaction of the government to check this violation has resulted in causing a huge loss to the exchequer as well as posing a threat to national security.

DNA reports, the Petitioner further said he had made a representation to the DoT and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to ensure that 3G services were not provided by non-licensed operators, causing huge financial losses to the national exchequer and creating a security risk since their 3G services were not approved. But no response was received from the DoT and TRAI, the petitioner said. The Petitioner also informed the bench that he had sent a detailed representation to the CVC to investigate the matter and ensure and no financial loss is caused to the nation, but had not received any reply.

UPA already had enough troubles with 2G spectrum allocation, events leading even to questioning the role of senior cabinet ministers like P. Chidambaram. It is at this time this Petition has come and is sure to add fuel to the fire. It will be interesting to see what the Government has to say with regard to 3G spectrum allocation.

Copy of Petition Filed Before Delhi High Court