Sitharaman's press conference updates

The Supreme Court’s decision on the 2005 Antrix-Devas agreement was “evidence of the Congress’s misuse of power,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said today. Antrix, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), and Bengaluru-based startup Devas Multimedia signed a satellite deal in 2005. Later, the agreement was terminated. The Supreme Court ordered Devas Multimedia to be wound up on Monday, ending a decade-long legal struggle between Antrix and Devas, saying, “This is a case of massive fraud that cannot be pushed under the carpet.”

Devas Multimedia’s appeal was denied by the Supreme Court. “It was a betrayal of the Indian people and a betrayal of the country. The Antrix-Devas agreement was clearly a sham, and the Supreme Court’s decision was proof of Congress’ abuse of power “The judgement comes as a benefit to the administration, according to the Finance Minister.

“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. We are fighting to save taxpayers’ money which otherwise would have gone to pay for the scandalous Antrix-Devas deal.” Sitharaman said.

When the transaction was cancelled in 2011 and arbitration commenced, she claimed, Antrix was instructed to designate an arbiter to represent the government, but it never did. 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 utilize ,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 government because of security concerns. The CBI indicted former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair and other officials in 2016 with facilitating a Rs 578 crore windfall for Devas. International courts were used by Devas’ foreign investors. An decision mandating Antrix to pay Devas $1.2 billion was confirmed by a US court in 2020. The order was placed on hold by the United States Supreme Court.

Antrix was ordered by the government in 2021 to file a winding-up petition against Devas under the Companies Act. Devas Multimedia’s order to be wound up was upheld by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.

The Supreme Court affirmed the ruling yesterday. “If Devas’ fraud was the root of the economic relationship between Antrix and Devas, then every element of the plant that developed out of those seeds, such as the Agreement, the disputes, arbitral awards, and so on, is contaminated with the poison of fraud,” the court stated.