PIL filed in SC to recover revenue lost to 2G scam

NEW DELHI: The Centre for Public Interest Litigation led by Prashant Bhushan, along with a string of powerful petitioners filed another PIL in the Supreme Court on Tuesday — asking the court to direct the government to cancel all 2G licences and recover the Rs 1.76 lakh crore of exchequer revenue that was lost on account of pricing 2G spectrum in 2008 at 2001 prices.

Some of the top brass of India’s civil society, including G M Lygdoh, T S Krishnamurthy, N Gopalaswami, all former Election Commissioners, P Shankar, former CVC, Julio F Ribeiro, Retired IPS and former DGP, Punjab and DG CRPF, Admiral (Retd) R H Tahiliani, Mentor, Transparency International India, former Governor and Chief of Naval staff, and senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta have joined in the petition. It also has Lok Satta, Telecom Watchdog and Common Cause amongst its petitioners.

“The government is only targeting ineligible licences and those that have failed to meet rollout obligation. Our petition seeks cancellation of all 2G licences as the process itself was illegal which makes the licence allotment illegal” , Prashant Bhushan told ToI.

Apart from recovery of revenue , the PIL wants the government to recover windfall profits that were obtained through sale of spectrum by illegitimate and corrupt methods - as companies sold equity to foreign firms. It also seeks that all future spectrum should be allocated through an open and transparent process.