Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Jan 18: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said the satellite deal between ISRO’s commercial arm Antrix and Devas signed in 2005 under the congress government was a fraud and a 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. However, the deal was cancelled later.
The Supreme Court ordered the winding up of Devas Multimedia on Monday, ending a decade-long legal struggle between Antrix and Devas, declaring, “It is a case of fraud of a vast magnitude which cannot be pushed under the carpet.”
Devas Multimedia’s appeal was denied by the Supreme Court.
“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,” said Finance Minister on the verdict that comes as a boost to the government.
“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,” she said.
“We are fighting to save taxpayers’ money which otherwise would have gone to pay for the scandalous Antrix-Devas deal,” she added.
"It's a fraud of the Congress, for the Congress and by the Congress," says Finance Min Nirmala Sitharaman on the Devas-Antrix issue pic.twitter.com/5eIV0fXas8
— ANI (@ANI) January 18, 2022
When the transaction was cancelled in 2011 and arbitration began, she claimed, Antrix was instructed to designate an arbiter to defend the government, but it never did.
Notably, Antrix was supposed to build, launch, and operate two satellites, as well as lease out 90% of the satellite transponder capacity to Devas, who planned to utilise it to deliver hybrid satellite and terrestrial communication services across the country, according to the 2005 deal.
A total of 70 MHz of S-band spectrum worth Rs 1,000 crore was included in the purchase. Security forces and government-run telecom businesses are the only ones who can access this spectrum.
The transaction was cancelled by the then-Congress administration, citing security concerns. The CBI indicted former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair and other officials in 2016 with facilitating a gain of Rs 578 crore to Devas.
The foreign investors in Devas took their case to international tribunals. An order from the International Chamber of Commerce for Antrix to pay Devas $1.2 billion was confirmed by a US court in 2020. The order was placed on hold by the Supreme Court.
Antrix was ordered by the government to file a winding-up suit against Devas under the Companies Act in 2021. An order to wind up Devas Multimedia was upheld by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.
