SC Quashes PIL Against 4G Licences to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio

The petition challenged the government’s decision to allow the company to offer voice services on its 4G spectrum.

Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Limited, poses for photographers before addressing the annual shareholders meeting in Mumbai. (Photo: Reuters)

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a PIL filed by an NGO challenging grant of 4G licences to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL).

A bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur junked the petition of NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), which challenged the government’s decision to allow the company to offer voice services on its 4G spectrum.

The apex court, however, asked the government to look into the issue of Spectrum Usage Charge (SUC) but did not pass any order on this.

The PIL, filed in 2014 through advocate Prashant Bhushan, had sought quashing of the permission granted by the Government to Reliance for providing voice telephony on Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum. It also pitched for a court-monitored CBI investigation in the alleged Rs 40,000 crore scam.