The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed curative petitions filed by Sistema Shyam, Videocon and other 2G players whose licences were cancelled. The operators had filed a plea to revoke the cancellation order passed by the apex court in February 2012.
The biggest impact of the decision to dismiss the curative petitions is on Russia’s Sistema. While Videocon bought back some spectrum in the recently held auction, Sistema Shyam was banking on the success of the curative petition to revive its operations in the country.
Sistema stand
“It is unfortunate that the Supreme Court has not admitted the curative petition of Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL). The company believes that it has been unfairly penalised in the February 2, 2012 order by the Supreme Court. While SSTL remains committed to its operations, it would be up to the shareholders to decide the go-forward strategy of the company,” Sistema Shyam said.
Analysts said this might force the operator to bid in the next round of auctions, in March. “Sistema now has no option but to bid in the upcoming auction if it wants to sustain its Indian operations. The good part is that the company can pick the circles it wants to operate in,” said a market watcher.
The other option for the Russian company would be to acquire an existing player.