Reliance Communications asks TDSAT to confirm spectrum dues are not Jio’s

Reliance Communications asks TDSAT to confirm spectrum dues are not Jio’sReliance Communications asks TDSAT to confirm spectrum dues are not Jio’sDevina Sengupta The Supreme Court bench on Friday adjourned the case for three weeks after learning about the application filed by the Anil Ambani-owned telco. | ET Bureau | Jan 12, 2019, 10:15AM IST

MUMBAI: Reliance Communications (RCom) has sought that the telecom department clarify that the Rs 2,947-crore spectrum related dues are from Anil Ambani’s company and not Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio).

The dues are at the heart of a dispute between RCom, Jio and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), which has stalled a spectrum trading deal between the two. Jio, the potential buyer of airwaves, has refused to be held liable for RCom’s past spectrum-related dues, prompting the DoT to reject the deal, saying the Mukesh Ambani-owned company’s stance was against rules.

The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), where the case was listed, has given DoT two weeks to clarify. Senior advocate Salman Khurshid along with advocate Mahesh Agarwal represented RCom in TDSAT.

Simultaneously, the case was also listed in the Supreme Court on Friday.

The apex court had earlier backed DoT’s stand and asked the two mobile phone operators to sort out the matter . The Supreme Court bench on Friday adjourned the case for three weeks after learning about the application filed by the Anil Ambani-owned telco. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal along with advocate Mahesh Agarwal represented RCom in Supreme Court.

This could be “RCom’s way of proving to the courts that Jio cannot be held liable for any of the past dues of Reliance Communications and therefore, the department has to give its nod to the trading deal between the two telcos without conditions,” said DoT official.

Shares of Rcom, which did not respond to ET’s emailed queries, closed at Rs 13.70, down 0.9%, on the BSE on Friday.