Whenever there is a question of the assignment of spectrum for commercial purposes, the SC’s judgment dated 2nd Feb 2012 becomes a point of reference for the proponents, who strongly believe that the same should be given to the service providers through the process of auction. As per them, not doing so will violate “Article 14” of the Indian Constitution, and will not be in the interest of the country and its consumers. On this note, I would like to investigate (both legally and technically) whether NOT auctioning spectrum for satellite services will be in contravention of the SC judgment.
The SC’s Conclusion
The Supreme Court’s key conclusion is extracted verbatim from the judgment below for ready reference (Clause 81, Page 92).
