‘Will challenge confiscation of properties abroad based on SC’s decision’: Govt on Devas-Antrix deal

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday accused the Congress-led erstwhile United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of “fraudulent” in the Devas-Antrix deal of 2005, saying the government was dewas multimedia. will challenge the forfeiture of its assets abroad on the basis of the Supreme Court’s decision to justify the liquidation of

Taking a strong stand against the Congress in a press conference, Sitharaman said that the Congress-led UPA government had cheated the people of the country by giving Devas Multimedia the S-Bank spectrum reserved for national security.

Quoting excerpts from the Supreme Court’s January 17 verdict, he said, “This is a fraud done by the Congress for the Congress and by the Congress”. It has been found that it was done fraudulently.

During the UPA government, in the year 2005, an agreement was signed between Antrix and Dewas, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), regarding the use of spectrum. Through this multimedia services were to be provided to the mobile phone holders.

Sitharaman claimed that Antrix was agreed to give S-band spectrum under this deal without the knowledge of the Union Cabinet. He said the UPA government scrapped the deal after six years as the dispute escalated, but did not try to deal with the arbitration proceedings initiated by Dewas.

“The government is now fighting in every court to save taxpayers’ money, otherwise this amount would have gone towards paying the arbitration award, which Dewas won by quashing the deal,” he said.

His remarks come at a time when Dewas shareholders have stepped up efforts to confiscate Indian assets abroad to recover $1.29 billion. Dewas was ordered by international arbitration tribunals to compensate this amount.

Dewas has been ordered by a French court to confiscate Indian assets in Paris and she is also seeking confiscation of Air India assets in Canada.

The Finance Minister said that the government will now challenge the confiscation of Indian properties abroad on the basis of this order of the Supreme Court.

Sitharaman said on the 2005 deal between Antrix and Dewas that it was a fraud with the people of the country, with the country. He said the S-band spectrum is used only for defense purposes, and was given away for a small amount of money. The Finance Minister said that Dewas promised to fulfill those things on which he was not even entitled.

The deal was canceled in 2011 on the grounds that the broadband spectrum auction was fraudulent and that the government needed S-band satellite spectrum for national security and other social purposes.

Thereafter, Dewas Multimedia initiated arbitration proceedings against the decision in the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC). Apart from this, two other arbitration proceedings were also initiated by the investors of Dewas. India lost in all three cases and was asked to pay a total of $1.29 billion to make up for the loss.