read and understand the rights of the parties under clause 4.1 of the UAS licence. The right to extension of the licence is undeniably a valuable right of the licensee. More so, having regard to the fact that the private operators came to the telecommunication sector on invitation by the Central Government for participation of private capital for the development of telecommunication services in the country; that the private operators, like the petitioners who were given licences under section 4 of the Telegraph Act made investments of thousands of crores of rupees for setting up enormous net-works reaching out to hundreds of millions of peoples and connecting them to each other; and that aided by the endeavours of the private operators in the last two decades the country witnessed a revolution in telecommunication service which is rightly described in the National Telecom Policy- 2012 as “a key driver in the economic and social development”. Nonetheless, on the plain language of the clause, the right of extension is not an absolute right. It is a qualified right. The licensor, the Union of India is bound to grant extension only in case the grant is “deemed expedient”. Conversely, it is open to the licensor to decline extension if it is not expedient. Further, “expedient” in the context can only mean one thing, that is, in public interest and for public good. It thus follows that it is open to the Central Government to refuse extension if the grant of extension would not be in public interest or sub-serve public good. Further, for the purpose of grant of extension, it is the Central Government alone
