SC to hear Sunil Mittal’s plea on appearance next Thursday

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will next Thursday hear Bharti Group chief Sunil Mittal’s plea against a special court order summoning him as an accused in the excess spectrum case.

He and Essar’s Ravi Ruia have contested the trial court decision to summon them on the grounds that they were promoters and not directors of the telecom companies involved.

The bench adjourned the case due to the unavailability of Mittal's lawyer Harish Salve.

The case hasn’t got under way because of an interim court order exempting Mittal from a personal appearance. That order was passed by a bench led by former chief justice Altamas Kabir.

Prashant Bhushan, lawyer for NGO Centre for Public Interest litigation (CPIL), sought a clarification from the court on its interim order to permit the trial in the case to continue. But the bench listed it for hearing next Thursday along with the Aircel-Maxis case.