General Knowledge & Current Affair for Competitive Exams- 2014

As per the ruling of the Delhi High Court, the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) can audit the accounts of mobile companies on a condition that the audit has to be only an audit relating to the receipts (revenues) and nothing else.

The Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India and Cellular operators had argued in its plea to the court that that under Article 149 of the Constitution, CAG is empowered only to audit the accounts of the Union and of the State governments and such authorities or bodies as may be prescribed by or under any law made by Parliament. They also argued that if a constitutional provision (Article 149) imposed restrictions on the power of a constitutional authority, no law made by Parliament could widen that power.

The Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India and Cellular petitioners had moved the Court following issuance of three letters to all telecom service providers; one by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the other two by the Director General of Audit, Post & Telecommunications requiring all the telecom firms to produce their books of accounts and other documents having a bearing on the verification of the revenue to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India from 2006-07 onwards.