Govt is not like a business house: SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has termed the bypassing of the Prime Minister’s reservations by the Telecom Ministry, as improper. The Apex Court made the observation on Wednesday while asking the government several questions on its policy for allocating 2G spectrum. A Bench comprising Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly said, the Prime Minister had made his reservations clear which were not treated with respect. There are requirements of collective responsibility. The Bench said, Government is not like a private business house and its actions have to be reasonable and in public interest. Observing that there is more than what meets the eyes, the Judges said, only 45 minutes were given to prospective licensees for submitting documents including demand draft and completing other formalities. They said, the entire system has been brought to disrepute. The Court was hearing a petition filed by an NGO – Centre for PublicInterest Litigation on the spectrum scam. Meanwhile, former Telecom Minister A Raja has questioned in the Supreme Court, the Comptroller and Auditor General, CAG’s findings in the 2 G spetrum allocation. Refering to the CAG’s report that the exchequer had suffered a loss of 1.76 lakh crore rupees in the allocation, Raja’s counsel T R Andhyarujina told the apex court that the figure is speculative and mind-boggling. AIR