Case: Centre For P.I.L.  Vs. Union Of India

2. For detailed examination of the issues raised by the petitioners, it will be useful to briefly notice the history of the growth of telecommunications in the country and the reforms introduced 1984 onwards3. In 1839, the first telegraph link was experimented between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour covering 21 miles. In 1851, the telegraph line was opened for traffic, mostly for the official work of the East India Company. In course of time, telegraphy service was made available for public traffic. The Indian Telegraph Act was enacted in 1885. It gave the exclusive privilege of establishing, maintaining and working of telegraphs to the Central Government. It also empowered the Government to grant licences on such conditions and in consideration of such payments as it thought fit, to any person to establish, maintain or work a telegraph in any part of India4. After independence, Government of India took complete control of the telecom sector and brought it under the Post & Telegraph Department. One major step taken for improving telecommunication services in the country was the establishment of a modern telecommunication manufacturing facility at Bangalore under the Public Sector, in the name of Indian Telephone Industries Ltd. The reforms in the telecommunication sector started in 1984 when the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) was set up for developing indigenous technologies and permissions were given to the private sector to manufacture subscriber-equipment. In 1986, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd., (MTNL) and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd., (VSNL) were set up5. The New Economic Policy of India was announced on 24.7.1991. It was aimed at meeting Indias competitiveness in the global market; rapid growth of exports, attracting foreign direct investment; and stimulating domestic investments. With a view to achieve standards comparable to international facilities, the sub-sector of Value Added Services was opened up to private investment in July 1992 for the following services: (a) Electronic Mail; (b) Voice Mail; (c) Data Services; (d) Audio Text Services; (e) Video Text Services; (f) Video Conferencing; (g) Radio Paging; and (h) Cellular Mobile TelephoneIn respect of services (a) to (f), the companies registered in India were permitted to operate under a licence on non-exclusive basis. For services covered by (g) and (h) mentioned above, keeping in view the constraints on the number of companies that could be allowed to operate, a policy of selection through a system of tendering was followed for grant of licencesNational Telecom Policy 1994National Telecom Policy 1994(NTP 1994) was announced on 13.5.1994. This was the first major step towards deregulation, liberalization and private sector participation. The objectives of the policy were:(i) affording telecommunication for all and ensuring the availability of telephone on demand;(ii) providing certain basic telecom services at affordable and reasonable prices to all people and covering all villages;(iii) giving world standard telecom services; addressing consumer complaints, dispute resolution and public interface to receive special attention and providing widest permissible range of services to meet the customers demand and at the same time at a reasonable price;(iv) creating a major manufacturing base and major export of telecom equipment having regard to countrys size and development; and(v) protecting the defence and security interest of the country7. In furtherance of NTP 1994, licences were granted to eight Cellular Mobile Telephone Service (CMTS) operators, two in each of the four metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai (Bombay), Kolkata (Calcutta) and Chennai (Madras). In the second phase, in December 1995, after following a competitive bidding process, 14 CMTS licences were awarded in 18 state circles, 6 Basic Telephone Services (BTS) licences were awarded in 6 state circles and paging licences were awarded in 27 cities and 18 state circles. However, this did not yield the intended results apparently because revenue realised by the cellular and basic operators was less than the projections and the operators were unable to arrange finances for their projectsNew Telecom Policy 19998. On the directions of the Prime Minister, a high level Group on Telecommunications (GoT) was constituted on 20.11.1998 to review the existing telecom policy and suggest further reforms. On the basis of the report of the GoT, a draftNew Telecom Policy 1999(NTP 1999) was formulated. After its approval by the Cabinet, NTP 1999 was announced to be effective from 1.4.1999. NTP 1999 had the following objectives:(i) to make available affordable and effective communications for the citizens, considering access to telecommunications as utmost important for achievement of the countrys social and economic goals;(ii) to provide universal service to all uncovered areas including the rural areas and also provide high level services capable of meeting the needs of the countrys economy by striking a balance between the two;(iii) to encourage development of telecommunication in remote, hilly and tribal areas of the country;(iv) to create a modern and efficient telecommunications infrastructure taking into account the convergence of IT, media, telecom and consumer electronics which will in turn propel India to become an IT superpower;(v) to convert PCOs wherever justified into Public Teleinfo centres having multimedia capability such as Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) services, remote database access, government and community information systems, etc.;(vi) to transform, in a time bound manner, the telecommunications sector in both urban and rural areas into a greater competitive environment providing equal opportunities and level playing field for all players;(vii) to strengthen research and development efforts in the country and provide an impetus to build world class manufacturing capabilities;(viii) to achieve efficiency and transparency in spectrum management;(ix) to protect defence and security interests of the country; and(x) to enable Indian Telecom Companies to become truly global players9. NTP 1999 categorized 8 services in the telecom sector, namely; (i) Cellular Mobile Service Providers (CMSPs), Fixed Service Providers (FSPs) and Cable Service Providers, collectively referred as `Access Providers; (ii) Radio Paging Service Providers; (iii) Public Mobile Radio Trunking Service Providers; (iv) National Long Distance Operators; (v) International Long Distance Operators; (vi) Other Service Providers, (vii) Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) Service Providers; (viii) V-SAT based Service Providers. NTP 1999 dealt with, and provided the framework for, all these categories of telecom service providers10. The policy on spectrum management as enumerated in NTP 1999 was as under:) Proliferation of new technologies and the growing demand for telecommunication services has led to manifold increase in demand for spectrum and consequently it is essential that the spectrum is utilized efficiently, economically, rationally and optimally(ii) There is a need for a transparent process of allocation of frequency spectrum for use by a service provider and making it available to various users under specific conditions(iii) With the proliferation of new technologies it is essential to revise the National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP) in its entirety so that it becomes the basis for development, manufacturing and spectrum utilization activities in the country amongst all users. NFAP was under review and the revised NFAP was to be made public by the end of 1999 detailing information regarding allocation of frequency bands for various services, without including security information(iv) NFAP would be reviewed no later than every two years and would be in line with radio regulations of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)(v) Adequate spectrum is to be made available to meet the growing need of telecommunication services. Efforts would be made for relocating frequency bands assigned earlier to defence and others. Compensation for relocation may be provided out of spectrum fee and revenue share(vi) There is a need to review the spectrum allocation in a planned manner so that required frequency bands are available to the service providers(vii) There is a need to have a transparent process of allocation of frequency spectrum which is effective and efficient and the same would be further examined in the light of ITU guidelines. In this regard the following course of action shall be adopted viz.:(a) spectrum usage fee shall be charged;(b) an Inter-Ministerial Group to be called Wireless Planning Coordination Committee, as a part of the Ministry of Communications for periodical review of spectrum availability and broad allocation policy, should be set up; and(c) massive computerization in WPC Wing would be started in the next three months so as to achieve the objective of making all operations completely computerized by the end of the year 2000. (emphasist of the Telecommunication Commission (for short, `the Telecom Commission) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India11. On 11.4.1989, the Council of Ministers passed a resolution and decided to establish the Telecom Commission. The relevant portions of that resolution are extractedCONSTITUTION OF TELECOM COMMISSIONNo. 15/1/2/87-Cab. 1. Telecommunication service is an essential infrastructure for national development. It has impact on social and economic activities. Besides, business, industry and administration depends heavily on information and telecom for productivity, efficiency and their day-to-day operations. Its development, therefore, is vital for nation building. In order to promote rapid development in all aspects of telecommunications including technology, production and services, the Government of India consider it necessary to set up an organisation, which will have responsibility in the entire field of telecommunicationsAfter careful consideration, the Government of India have decided to establish a Telecommunication Commission with full executive and financial powers modelled on the lines of the Atomic Energy Commission2. Constitution of the Commission(a) The Commission will consist of full time and part time Members;(b) The Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Telecommunications shall be the ex-officio Chairman of the Commission;(c) The full time Members of the Commission shall be ex-officio Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Telecommunications. One of these Members shall be Member for Finance; and(d) The Secretary and the full time Members of the Commission shall be drawn from the best persons available, including from within the Department of TelecommunicationsThe Telecom Commission shall be responsible :(a) For formulating the policy of the Department of Telecommunications for approval of the Government;(b) For preparing the budget for the Department of Telecommunications for each financial year and getting it approved by the Government; and(c) Implementation of the Governments policy in all matters concerning telecommunication4. Within the limits of the budget provision, approval by the Parliament, the Commission shall have the powers of the Government of India, both administrative and financial, for carrying out the work of the Department of Telecommunications(a) The Chairman, in his capacity as Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Telecommunications, shall be responsible under the Minister of Communications for arriving at decisions on technical questions and advising Government on policy and allied matters of telecommunication. All recommendations of the Commission on policy and allied matters shall be put to the Minister of Communications through the Chairman(b) In case of any difference of opinion in the meetings of the Commission, the decision of the Chairman shall be final, but in financial matters, Member (Finance) of the Commission will have access to Finance Minister(c) The Chairman may authorise any Member of the Commission to exercise on his behalf, subject to such general or special orders as he may issue from time to time, such of his powers and responsibilities as he may decide6. Member FinanceThe Member of Finance shall exercise powers of the Government of India in financial matters concerning the Department of Telecommunications except in so far as such powers have been, or may in future be conferred on or delegated to the Department7. The Commission shall have power to frame its own rules and procedures. The Commission shall meet at such time and places as fixed by the Chairman8. The Telecom Commission shall take over all legal and statutory authority vested with the Telecom. The Rules of Business for the Telecom Commission were also framed in 1989. In terms of para 2 of the Rules of Business read with item 1 of Annexure `A appended thereto, all important matters of policy relating to Telecommunications are required to be brought before the Telecom Commission13. In 1997, Parliament enacted the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 (for short, `the 1997 Act) to provide for the establishment of TRAI. By Act No.2 of 2000, the 1997 Act was amended and provision was made for establishment of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). Sections 11 and 13, which have bearing on the decision of these petitions read as. Functions of Authority. - (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (13 of 1885), the functions of the Authority shall be to(a) to make recommendations, either suo motu or on a request from the licensor, on the following matters, namely:(i) need and timing for introduction of new service provider; (ii) terms and conditions of licence to a service provider; (iii) revocation of licence for non- compliance of terms and conditions of licence;(iv) measures to facilitate competition and promote efficiency in the operation of telecommunication services so as to facilitate growth in such services;(v) technological improvements in the services provided by the service providers;(vi) type of equipment to be used after inspection of equipment used in the network;(vii) measures for the development of telecommunication technology and any other matter relatable to telecommunication industry in general;(viii) efficient management of available spectrum;(b) discharge the following functions, namely:(i) ensure compliance of terms and conditions of licence;(ii) notwithstanding anything contained in the terms and conditions of the licence granted before the commencement of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Act, 2000, fix the terms and conditions of inter-connectivity between the service providers;(iii) ensure technical compatibility and effective inter- connection between different service providers;(iv) regulate arrangement amongst service providers of sharing their revenue derived from providing telecommunication services;(v) lay-down the standards of quality of service to be provided by the service providers and ensure the quality of service and conduct the periodical survey of such service provided by the service providers so as to protect interest of the consumers of telecommunication service;(vi) lay-down and ensure the time period for providing local and long distance circuits of telecommunication between different service providers;(vii) maintain register of interconnect agreements and of all such other matters as may be provided in the regulations;(viii) keep register maintained under clause (vii) open for inspection to any member of public on payment of such fee and compliance of such other requirement as may be provided in the regulations;(ix) ensure effective compliance of universal service obligations;(c) levy fees and other charges at such rates and in respect of such services as may be determined by regulations;(d) perform such other functions including such administrative and financial functions as may be entrusted to it by the Central Government or as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act:Provided that the recommendations of the Authority specified in clause (a) of this sub-section shall not be binding upon the Central Government:Provided further that the Central Government shall seek the recommendations of the Authority in respect of matters specified in sub-clauses (i) and (ii) of clause (a) of this sub-section in respect of new licence to be issued to a service provider and the Authority shall forward its recommendations within a period of sixty days from the date on which that Government sought the recommendations: Provided also that the Authority may request the Central Government to furnish such information or documents as may be necessary for the purpose of making recommendations under sub-clauses (i) and (ii) of clause (a) of this subsection and that Government shall supply such information within a period of seven days from receipt of such request:Provided also that the Central Government may issue a licence to a service provider if no recommendations are received from the Authority within the period specified in the second proviso or within such period as may be mutually agreed upon between the Central Government and the Authority:Provided also that if the Central Government having considered that recommendation of the Authority, comes to a prima facie conclusion that such recommendation cannot be accepted or needs modifications, it shall, refer the recommendation back to the Authority for its reconsideration, and the Authority may within fifteen days from the date of receipt of such reference, forward to the Central Government its recommendation after considering the reference made by that Government. After receipt of further recommendation if any, the Central Government shall take a final decision(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (13 of 1885), the Authority may, from time to time, by order, notify in the Official Gazette the rates at which the telecommunication services within India and outside India shall be provided under this Act including the rates at which messages shall be transmitted to any country outside India:Provided that the Authority may notify different rates for different persons or class of persons for similar telecommunication services and where different rates are fixed as aforesaid the Authority shall record the reasons therefore(3) While discharging its functions :under sub-section (1) or sub- section (2) the Authority shall not act against the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality. (4) The Authority shall ensure transparency while exercising its powers and discharging its functions13. Power of Authority to issue directions. - The Authority may, for the discharge of its functions under sub-section (1) of section 11, issue such directions from time to time to the service providers, as it may consider necessary:Provided that no direction under sub-section (4) of section 12 or under this section shall be issued except on the matters specified in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section. After its establishment, TRAI made various recommendations either suo motu or on the request of the licensor, i.e., the Central Government or the 1Telegraph Authority. On a reference made by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology on four issues including the issues of appropriate level of entry fee, basis of selection of new operators and entry of 4th cellular operator, TRAI made its recommendations, which were communicated to Secretary, DoT vide D.O. No. 250-14/2000-Fin (DF) (Vol. II) dated 23.6.2000. Paragraphs 4.1 to 4.3, 4.5 to 4.6 and 4.11 to 4.15 of that letter are extracted. For the purposes of clarity each issue on which TRAIs recommendation has been sought has been stated separately and recommendations have been given therefor4.1(A) Appropriate level of entry fee, basis for selection of new operators and entry of fourth operatorThe issues under this head can be broken under three main subheads. These are :(i) Level of entry fee;

Court's reasoning:
At the outset, we consider it proper to observe that even though there is no universally accepted definition of natural resources, they are generally understood as elements having intrinsic utility to mankind. They may be renewable or non renewable. They are thought of as the individual elements of the natural environment that provide economic and social services to human society and are considered valuable in their relatively unmodified, natural, form.65. Spectrum has been internationally accepted as a scarce, finite and renewable natural resource which is susceptible to degradation in case of inefficient utilisation. It has a high economic value in the light of the demand for it on account of the tremendous growth in the telecom sector. Although it does not belong to a particular State, right of use has been granted to States as per international norms66. In India, the Courts have given an expansive interpretation to the concept of natural resources and have from time to time issued directions, by relying upon the provisions contained in Articles 38, 39, 48, 48A and 51A(g), for protection and proper allocation/distribution of natural resources and have repeatedly insisted on compliance of the constitutional principles in the process of distribution, transfer and alienation to private persons. The doctrine of public trust, which was evolved in Illinois Central Railroad Co. v. People of the State of Illinois 146 U.S. 387 (1892), has been held by this Court to be a part of the Indian jurisprudence in M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath (1997) 1 SCC 388  and has been applied in Jamshed Hormusji Wadia v. Board of Trustee, Port of Mumbai (2002) 3 SCC 214, Intellectuals Forum, Tirupathi v. State of A.P. (2006) 3 SCC 549  and Fomento Resorts and Hotels Limited v. Minguel Martins (2009) 3 SCC 571. In Jamshed Hormusji Wadias case, this Court held that the States actions and the actions of its agencies/instrumentalities must be for the public good, achieving the objects for which they exist and should not be arbitrary or capricious. In the field of contracts, the State and its instrumentalities should design their activities in a manner which would ensure competition and not discrimination. They can augment their resources but the object should be to serve the public cause and to do public good by resorting to fair and reasonable methods.. As natural resources are public goods, the doctrine of equality, which emerges from the concepts of justice and fairness, must guide the State in determining the actual mechanism for distribution of natural resources. In this regard, the doctrine of equality has two aspects: first, it regulates the rights and obligations of the State vis-à-vis its people and demands that the people be granted equitable access to natural resources and/or its products and that they are adequately compensated for the transfer of the resource to the private domain; and second, it regulates the rights and obligations of the State vis-à-vis private parties seeking to acquire/use the resource and demands that the procedure adopted for distribution is just, non-arbitrary and transparent and that it does not discriminate between similarly placed private parties. In Sachidanand Pandey v. State of West Bengal (1987) 2 SCC 295 , the Court referred to some of the precedents and laid down the followingd or public-owned property is not to be dealt with at the absolute discretion of the executive. Certain precepts and principles have to be observed. Public interest is the paramount consideration. One of the methods of securing the public interest, when it is considered necessary to dispose of a property, is to sell the property by public auction or by inviting tenders. Though that is the ordinary rule, it is not an invariable rule. There may be situations where there are compelling reasons necessitating departure from the rule but then the reasons for the departure must be rational and should not be suggestive of discrimination. Appearance of public justice is as important as doing justice. Nothing should be done which gives an appearance of bias, jobbery or nepotism.. In conclusion, we hold that the State is the legal owner of the natural resources as a trustee of the people and although it is empowered to distribute the same, the process of distribution must be guided by the constitutional principles including the doctrine of equality and larger public good73. Question No.2:Although, while making recommendations on 28.8.2007, TRAI itself had recognised that spectrum was a scarce commodity, it made recommendation for allocation of 2G spectrum on the basis of 2001 price by invoking the theory of level playing field. Paragraph 2.40 of the recommendations dated 28.8.2007 shows that as per TRAIs own assessment the existing system of spectrum allocation criteria, pricing methodology and the management system suffered from number of deficiencies and there was an urgent need to address the issues linked with spectrum efficiency and its management and yet it decided to recommend the allocation of spectrum at the price determined in 2001. All this was done in the name of growth, affordability, penetration of wireless services in semi urban and rural areas, etc. Unfortunately, while doing so, TRAI completely overlooked that one of the main objectives of NTP 1999 was that spectrum should be utilised efficiently, economically, rationally and optimally and there should be a transparent process of allocation of frequency spectrum as also the fact that in terms of the decision taken by the Council of Ministers in 2003 to approve the recommendations of the Group of Ministers the DoT and Ministry of Finance were required to discuss and finalise the spectrum pricing formula. To say the least, the entire approach adopted by TRAI was lopsided and contrary to the decision taken by the Council of Ministers and its recommendations became a handle for the then the Minister of C&IT and the officers of the DoT who virtually gifted away the important national asset at throw away prices by willfully ignoring the concerns raised from various quarters including the Prime Minister, Ministry of Finance and also some of its own officers. This becomes clear from the fact that soon after obtaining the licences, some of the beneficiaries off-loaded their stakes to others, in the name of transfer of equity or infusion of fresh capital by foreign companies, and thereby made huge profits. We have no doubt that if the method of auction had been adopted for grant of licence which could be the only rational transparent method for distribution of national wealth, the nation would have been enriched by many thousand crores74. While it cannot be denied that TRAI is an expert body assigned with important functions under the 1997 Act, it cannot make recommendations overlooking the basic constitutional postulates and established principles and make recommendations which would deny people from participating in the distribution of national wealth and benefit a handful of persons. Therefore, even though the scope of judicial review in such matters is extremely limited, as pointed out in Delhi Science Forum v. Union of India (supra) and a large number of other judgments relied upon by the learned counsel of the respondents, keeping in view the facts which have been brought to the notice of the Court that the mechanism evolved by TRAI for allocation of spectrum and the methodology adopted by the then Minister of C&IT and the officers of DoT for grant of UAS Licences may have caused huge loss to the nation, we have no hesitation to record a finding that the recommendations made by TRAI were flawed in many respects and implementation thereof by the DoT resulted in gross violation of the objective of NPT 1999 and the decision taken by the Council of Ministers on 31.10.200375. We may also mention that even though in its recommendations dated 28.8.2007, TRAI had not specifically recommended that entry fee be fixed at 2001 rates, but paragraph 2.73 and other related paragraphs of its recommendations state that it has decided not to recommend the standard option for pricing of spectrum in 2G bands keeping in view the level playing field for the new entrants. It is impossible to approve the decision taken by the DoT to act upon those recommendations. We also consider it necessary to observe that in todays dynamism and unprecedented growth of telecom sector, the entry fee determined in 2001 ought to have been treated by the TRAI as wholly unrealistic for grant of licence along with start up spectrum. In our view, the recommendations made by TRAI in this regard were contrary to the decision of the Council of Ministers that the DoT shall discuss the issue of spectrum pricing with the Ministry of Finance along with the issue of incentive for efficient use of spectrum as well as disincentive for sub-optimal usages. Being an expert body, it was incumbent upon the TRAI to make suitable recommendations even for the 2G bands especially in light of the deficiencies of the present system which it had itself pointed out. We do not find merit in the reasoning of TRAI that the consideration of maintaining a level playing field prevented a realistic reassessment of the entry fee76. Question Nos.3 and 4:There is a fundamental flaw in the first-come-first-served policy inasmuch as it involves an element of pure chance or accident. In matters involving award of contracts or grant of licence or permission to use public property, the invocation of first-come-first-served policy has inherently dangerous implications. Any person who has access to the power corridor at the highest or the lowest level may be able to obtain information from the Government files or the files of the agency/instrumentality of the State that a particular public property or asset is likely to be disposed of or a contract is likely to be awarded or a licence or permission is likely to be given, he would immediately make an application and would become entitled to stand first in the queue at the cost of all others who may have a better claim. This Court has repeatedly held that wherever a contract is to be awarded or a licence is to be given, the public authority must adopt a transparent and fair method for making selections so that all eligible persons get a fair opportunity of competition. To put it differently, the State and its agencies/instrumentalities must always adopt a rational method for disposal of public property and no attempt should be made to scuttle the claim of worthy applicants. When it comes to alienation of scarce natural resources like spectrum etc., it is the burden of the State to ensure that a non-discriminatory method is adopted for distribution and alienation, which would necessarily result in protection of national/public interest. In our view, a duly publicised auction conducted fairly and impartially is perhaps the best method for discharging this burden and the methods like first-come-first-served when used for alienation of natural resources/public property are likely to be misused by unscrupulous people who are only interested in garnering maximum financial benefit and have no respect for the constitutional ethos and values. In other words, while transferring or alienating the natural resources, the State is duty bound to adopt the method of auction by giving wide publicity so that all eligible persons can participate in the process77. The exercise undertaken by the officers of the DoT between September, 2007 and March 2008, under the leadership of the then Minister of C&IT was wholly arbitrary, capricious and contrary to public interest apart from being violative of the doctrine of equality. The material produced before the Court shows that the Minister of C&IT wanted to favour some companies at the cost of the Public Exchequer and for this purpose, he took the following steps:(i) Soon after his appointment as Minister of C&IT, he directed that all the applications received for grant of UAS Licence should be kept pending till the receipt of TRAI recommendations(ii) The recommendations made by TRAI on 28.8.2007 were not placed before the full Telecom Commission which, among others, would have included the Finance Secretary. The notice of the meeting of the Telecom Commission was not given to any of the non permanent members despite the fact that the recommendations made by TRAI for allocation of spectrum in 2G bands had serious financial implications. This has been established from the pleadings and the records produced before this Court that after issue of licences, 3 applicants transferred their equities for a total sum of Rs.24,493 crores in favour of foreign companies. Therefore, it was absolutely necessary for the DoT to take the opinion of the Finance Ministry as per the requirement of the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961(iii) The officers of the DoT who attended the meeting of the Telecom Commission held on 10.10.2007 hardly had any choice but to approve the recommendations made by TRAI. If they had not done so, they would have incurred the wrath of Minister of C&IT(iv) In view of the approval by the Council of Ministers of the recommendations made by the Group of Ministers in 2003, the DoT had to discuss the issue of spectrum pricing with the Ministry of Finance. Therefore, the DoT was under an obligation to involve the Ministry of Finance before any decision could be taken in the context of paragraphs 2.78 and 2.79 of TRAIs recommendations. However, as the Minister of C&IT was very much conscious of the fact that the Secretary, Finance, had objected to the allocation of 2G spectrum at the rates fixed in 2001, he did not consult the Finance Minister or the officers of the Finance Ministry(v) The Minister of C&IT brushed aside the suggestion made by the Minister of Law and Justice for placing the matter before the Empowered Group of Ministers. Not only this, within few hours of the receipt of the suggestion made by the Prime Minister in his letter dated 2.11.2007 that keeping in view the inadequacy of spectrum, transparency and fairness should be maintained in the matter of allocation thereof, the Minister of C&IT rejected the same by saying that it will be unfair, discriminatory, arbitrary and capricious to auction the spectrum to new applicants because it will not give them level playing field(vi) The Minister C&IT introduced cut off date as 25.9.2007 for consideration of the applications received for grant of licence despite the fact that only one day prior to this, press release was issued by the DoT fixing 1.10.2007 as the last date for receipt of the applications. This arbitrary action of the Minister of C&IT though appears to be innocuous, actually benefitted some of the real estate companies who did not have any experience in dealing with telecom services and who had made applications only on 24.9.2007, i.e., one day before the cut off date fixed by the Minister of C&IT on his own(vii) The cut off date, i.e. 25.9.2007 decided by the Minister of C&IT on 2.11.2007 was not made public till 10.1.2008 and the first-come-first- served policy, which was being followed since 2003 was changed by him on 7.1.2008 and was incorporated in press release dated 10.1.2008. This enabled some of the applicants, who had access either to the Minister or the officers of the DoT to get the demand drafts, bank guarantee, etc. prepared in advance for compliance of conditions of the LoIs, which was the basis for determination of seniority for grant of licences and allocation of spectrum(viii) The meeting of the full Telecom Commission, which was scheduled to be held on 9.1.2008 to consider issues relating to grant of licences and pricing of spectrum was deliberately postponed on 7.1.2008 so that the Secretary, Finance and Secretaries of three other important Departments may not be able to raise objections against the procedure devised by the DoT for grant of licence and allocation of spectrum by applying the principle of level playing field(ix) The manner in which the exercise for grant of LoIs to the applicants was conducted on 10.1.2008 leaves no room for doubt that every thing was stage managed to favour those who were able to know in advance the change in the implementation of the first-come-first served policy. As a result of this, some of the companies which had submitted applications in 2004 or 2006 were pushed down in the priority and those who had applied between August and September 2007 succeeded in getting higher seniority entitling them to allocation of spectrum on priority basis78. The argument of Shri Harish Salve, learned senior counsel, that if the Court finds that the exercise undertaken for grant of UAS Licences has resulted in violation of the institutional integrity, then all the licences granted 2001 onwards should be cancelled does not deserve acceptance because those who have got licence between 2001 and 24.9.2007 are not parties to these petitions and legality of the licences granted to them has not been questioned before this Court79. In majority of judgments relied upon by learned Attorney General and learned counsel for the respondents, it has been held that the power of judicial review should be exercised with great care and circumspection and the Court should not ordinarily interfere with the policy decisions of the Government in financial matters. There cannot be any quarrel with the proposition that the Court cannot substitute its opinion for the one formed by the experts in the particular field and due respect should be given to the wisdom of those who are entrusted with the task of framing the policies. We are also conscious of the fact that the Court should not interfere with the fiscal policies of the State. However, when it is clearly demonstrated that the policy framed by the State or its agency/instrumentality and/or its implementation is contrary to public interest or is violative of the constitutional principles, it is the duty of the Court to exercise its jurisdiction in larger public interest and reject the stock plea of the State that the scope of judicial review should not be exceeded beyond the recognised parameters. When matters like these are brought before the judicial constituent of the State by public spirited citizens, it becomes the duty of the Court to exercise its power in larger public interest and ensure that the institutional integrity is not compromised by those in whom the people have reposed trust and who have taken oath to discharge duties in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill will and who, as any other citizen, enjoy fundamental rights and, at the same time, are bound to perform the duties enumerated in Article 51A. Reference in this connection can usefully be made to the judgment of the three Judge Bench headed by Chief Justice Kapadia in Centre for P.I.L. v. Union of India (2011) 4 SCC 1 80. Before concluding, we consider it imperative to observe that but for the vigilance of some enlightened citizens who held important constitutional and other positions and discharged their duties in larger public interest and Non Governmental Organisations who have been constantly fighting for clean governance and accountability of the constitutional institutions, unsuspecting citizens and the Nation would never have known how the scarce natural resource spared by Army has been grabbed by those who enjoy money power and who have been able to manipulate the system.