Future decisions will be taken in light of Supreme Court judgment: Government

NEW DELHI: Armed with the supreme court judgment that clearly endorses the executive's powers on policy making and clears the air on allocation of natural resources, Law Minister, Salman Khurshid said all future decisions will be taken in light of Supreme Court judgment.

The Supreme Court on Thursday clarified that its 2G verdict recommending auctioning for allocation of natural resources was only confined to spectrum and it was not a blanket statement applicable across all natural resources

Government fielded its most articulate media managers, three lawyers finance minister P Chidambaram, law minister Salman Khurshid and telecom minister Kapil Sibal to send out the message of victory.

Chidambaram said, "We have accepted the judgement that 122 licences will be cancelled and spectrum released from them will be auctioned."

The finance minister reiterated that all constitutional authorities will bear SC judgement in mind while discharging their constitutional duties. "We have maintained that if there was any irregularity or illegality in implementing policy, it must be corrected and those responsible be held to account," he added.

Also Read: Auction not the only permissible method of allocating natural resources: Supreme Court

Sibal said that auction of natural resources is not a constitutional mandate but an economic choice. "The Supreme Court has made it very clear and specific that it is the government which is empowered to take policy decisions," added Sibal.

The Telecom Minister made it clear that the judgement on cancellation of 122 licences would be respected and auction would be conducted for the spectrum that has been made available pursuant to the cancellation licences as per schedule.

Khurshid said the verdict will give the government important guidance as it moves forward and enable the Centre take forward its public policies.

CAG had indicted the government for accruing benefits by allocating natural resources on nomination basis.