SC cites 2G taint to disclaim Loop Telecom refund of entry payment

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the Loop Telecom Ltd plea looking for refund of Rs 1,454.94 crore paid as entry payment for 2G spectrum licences that had been quashed by the highest court docket following the 2G rip-off.

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A Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant and Vikram Nath mentioned: “The acquittal of the promoters of the firm in the criminal case against them does not efface or obliterate the findings contained in the final judgment of the court dated February 2, 2012.”

The court docket mentioned it had come to the conclusion that Loop “was in pari delicto (in equal fault or wrong) with DoT (Department of Telecom) and the then officials of the Union Government” and that it “was the beneficiary of the First Come First Serve policy that was intended to favour a group of private bidding entities at the cost of the public exchequer”.

The judgment mentioned: “The process leading up to the award of the UASLs (Unified Access Service Licences) and the allocation of the 2G spectrum was found to be arbitrary and constitutionally infirm” and “the need for an open and transparent bidding process for the allocation of natural resources was substituted by a process which was designed to confer unlawful benefits on a group of selected bidders by which the appellant benefitted”.

The court docket famous that “the criminal trial before the Special Judge, CBI, was limited to the question as to whether the promoters of the appellant had cheated the DoT by providing a false representation of its compliance with Clause 8 of the UASL guidelines, since it was allegedly being controlled by the Essar group. The Special Judge, CBI, acquitted the promoters of the appellant since the prosecution was unable to prove that: (i) officers of DoT considered the representation of the appellant to be false; (ii) the appellant was engaging in a sham transaction; or (iii) the appellant was actually controlled by the Essar group”.

“Hence, as a beneficiary and confederate of fraud, the appellant cannot be lent the assistance of this court for obtaining the refund of the entry fee. In any event, such a course of action before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) was clearly in the teeth of the judgment of this court in” the 2012 judgment, the Bench added.