The Aryavarth Express
Agency (New Delhi): The Registrar of the Supreme Court has dismissed an application from the Union Government which sought to clarify the court’s 2012 judgment on the 2G Spectrum case. The government had hoped to confirm that the ruling did not prohibit allocating spectrum by means other than public auction under certain conditions. However, the Registrar deemed the application as effectively a review attempt disguised as a clarification request and refused to accept it based on the Supreme Court Rules, 2013.
The Registrar highlighted that the application did not present a reasonable cause for consideration and pointed out the inappropriate delay, nearly 12 years after the original judgment. This delay was noteworthy especially since the government had previously withdrawn a review petition against the verdict soon after its issuance in 2012.
In its 2012 decision (Centre for Public Interest Litigation v. Union of India), the Supreme Court had overturned the then-existing ‘first-come-first-served’ policy for 2G spectrum assignment, advocating public auctions as the preferred method for allocating such vital public resources. The Union’s recent application argued for exceptions to this auction requirement for non-commercial uses that serve public and sovereign functions such as national security and disaster management, suggesting that these scenarios could benefit from administrative allocation rather than auction due to economic or technical feasibility.
The application also highlighted specific cases where market conditions such as supply exceeding demand might make auctions impractical or inefficient, particularly for certain types of spectrum use like space communications or temporary needs.
Despite these arguments, the application was rejected on procedural grounds, with the Registrar suggesting that the Union’s motivations were to reopen discussions already settled by the court. The government now has the option to appeal this refusal directly to the Supreme Court within fifteen days from the order.