Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said the Supreme Court’s order on the 2005 Antrix-Devas deal was “proof of the Congress’s misuse of power”.
The case involves a satellite deal in 2005 between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO’s) commercial arm Antrix and the Bengaluru-based startup Devas Multimedia.
The deal was cancelled later. A decade-long legal battle between Antrix and Devas ended with the Supreme Court on Monday ordering the winding up of Devas Multimedia saying, “It is a case of fraud of a huge magnitude which cannot be brushed under the carpet.”
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal filed by Devas Multimedia.
“It was a fraud on the people of India, fraud against the country. The fraud in the Antrix-Devas deal was obvious and the Supreme Court’s order was proof of the Congress’ misuse of power,” the Finance Minister said on the verdict that comes as a boost to the government.
“It’s a fraud of the Congress, for the Congress and by the Congress.”
“This is what the greed of the UPA has done. The government is fighting in every court to make sure the fraud doesn’t get away,” Ms Sitharaman said.
“We are fighting to save taxpayers’ money which otherwise would have gone to pay for the scandalous Antrix-Devas deal.”
She alleged that when the deal was cancelled in 2011 and arbitration began, Antrix was asked to appoint an arbitrator to defend the government but it never did.
Under the 2005 agreement, Antrix was to build, launch and operate two satellites and lease out 90 per cent of the satellite transponder capacity to Devas, which planned to use it to offer hybrid satellite and terrestrial communication services in the country.
The deal included 70 MHz of S-band spectrum worth ₹ 1,000 crore. This spectrum is restricted for use by security forces and government-run telecom companies.
The then Congress government cancelled the deal citing security reasons. In 2016, former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair and other officials were charged by the CBI for allegedly facilitating a gain of ₹ 578 crore to Devas.
Devas’ foreign investors went to international courts. In 2020, a US court confirmed the International Chamber of Commerce’s order directing Antrix to pay $1.2 billion to Devas. The Supreme Court put the order on hold.
In 2021, the government directed Antrix to start a winding-up petition against Devas under the Companies Act. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal upheld an order to wind up Devas Multimedia.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court upheld the order.
“If the seeds of the commercial relationship between Antrix and Devas were a product of fraud perpetrated by Devas, every part of the plant that grew out of those seeds, such as the Agreement, the disputes, arbitral awards, etc., are all infected with the poison of fraud,” the court said.