The Indian Express
January 25, 2022

Ravi Shankar Prasad writes: The Supreme Court's historic judgment underscores how corruption marked UPA government's decision-making

The recent Supreme Court judgment held that the entire Antrix-Devas deal is based on fraud; that the incorporation of Devas was with the fraudulent intention to grab prestigious contracts and corner natural resources in connivance with officials of Antrix. In many ways, it exposes again the corrupt manner in which the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh sought to squander national resources and allowed the loot of public money. The finding of the apex court comes as a vindication for many of us who raised the voice of opposition in Parliament, criticised the deal and demanded accountability, leading to its cancellation in 2011. The SC has upheld the order of liquidation for Devas, which was demanded by the new management of the Antrix corporation after the Narendra Modi government came to power. This exposes the rank fraud in the deal made with Devas, which was constituted hurriedly to corner precious S-Band reserved for defence purposes, and showed that the company has no technical competence or infrastructure to execute the project.