DoT for arbitration against Bharti over dues

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, APRIL 16. After a long delay, the Communications Ministry has come out in favour of commencing arbitration proceedings against Bharti Mobile for owing over Rs. 500 crores in dues for a cellular licence.

Even though the opinion of the Attorney General has not been received, the Communications Ministry feels it should immediately begin arbitration proceedings against Bharti Mobile for owing an enormous amount for the cellular licence in Punjab.

Senior Ministry officials have opted for this course of action after the Communications Minister, Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, concurred with his deputy, Mr. Tapan Sikdar, that ``the case has been delayed considerably and we may initiate time-bound action as soon as we received the comments of the AG.'' However, since the AG's views have not been received so far, senior officials have favoured proceedings against Bharti on the basis of the view received from their in-house legal department.

The dispute relates to a demand letter sent by the Ministry to Bharti for the Punjab cellular licence. Bharti disputed the demand on the grounds that its objection with regard to payability for a certain period was not considered, that the dispute on liability is under consideration and that the dues should be recovered from Evergrowth Telecom, the company which earlier operated the licence.

The legal advice received by the Ministry stated that ``as on present day, the amount is recoverable and this is sufficient ground to invoke recovery proceedings'' and Bharti's contention that recovery should be made from Evergrowth was ``wrong and misconceived.'' It was felt that an award of the arbitrator is a deemed decree and can be executed against Bharti. After considering this opinion, the Communications Ministry has stated that there is no option except to start arbitration proceedings for recovery of the dues.

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Section  : Business
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