Sibal takes on judges, says let the court allocate spectrum, explain its orders

Stating that "millions of consumers" had lost connections "in this process", Sibal said: "Whether a particular entity participated in a particular auction or not depends on market forces and its model of doing business in India... If it chooses not to participate, it is free not to. There is no law under which a particular entity must participate in an auction. By not participating, no law is infringed. To ask that entity to close down its business impacts consumers negatively. This should be a matter of concern for the court as well. But, as I said, we are bound by court orders. We can't question them. The orders of the Supreme Court have to be implemented."

Asked for his views on the growing perception, voiced most recently by President Pranab Mukherjee, that courts are interferring in the domain of the Executive and the Legislature, Sibal said: "I firmly believe that courts are as much concerned with national interest as all of us and courts' intentions are bona fide. But, good intentions don't necessarily make good law because the nature of decision-making in court is different from decision-making in government. While courts may have their own perception about a particular policy, those perceptions, when implemented, may not result in sound judicial orders. This is where I think courts have gone wrong. With the best of intentions, courts think that a particular course of action is in the larger public interest, whereas the larger public interest with reference to policy matters is the responsibility of the government."

On the impact such orders have on India, Sibal said: "This country is integrated into the global economy and, therefore, global investors are ready to invest in our infrastructure sectors, including telecom. Of late, bona fide global investors are somewhat uncertain about the fate of their investments made with legitimate expectations. If in the course of such uncertainty, these investments take a beating, the Indian economy will be hurt."

... contd.

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