New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) The Company Law Board (CLB) Thursday returned the petitions filed by Norway-based Telenor and India’s Unitech, citing technical errors, and asked the firms to resolve their differences through mediation.
The CLB has asked both companies to file their petitions rectifying the errors. The board would hear the case March 13. The two companies had floated a joint venture Uninor to enter the Indian telecom market.
Earlier, the two companies had separately moved the CLB to protect their individual interests following the Supreme Court order to cancel all the 22 licences of the joint venture.
While Telenor filed the petition to “prevent any wrongful obstruction” to its effort to secure its investments, Unitech filed one in response to prevent the Norwegian firm from assuming full control over the business, including assets of Uninor.
Telenor, which runs its telecom business in India under a joint venture with Unitech, has declared that it intends to form a new company through which it would carry on its mobile business in India and participate in the upcoming 2G spectrum auction.
In order to secure its $3 billion investment in the country, Telenor has also put diplomatic pressure on the Indian government.
Telenor has 67.25 percent stake in Uninor, which claims 40 million subscribers across the country.
The firm is one of the worst affected by the Supreme Court’s order to cancel 122 licences issued in 2008, losing 22 licenses.
