Supreme Court of India
India's highest court.
the Supreme Court of India cancelled 122 first-come 2G licences in 2012, ruling that a scarce public resource needs a fair, transparent allocation such as an auction. Brazil faced the same choice over grid connections in October 2026.
Last refreshed: 18 October 2026
Should scarce grid capacity be auctioned, as India's top court ruled for spectrum?
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Cancelled 122 2G licences in 2012
Data Centres: Boom and Backlash: Mentioned in: Brazil auctions its grid to data centresBackground
India's highest court was established on 28 January 1950 under Article 124 of the Constitution and sits on Tilak Marg in New Delhi. Surya Kant became Chief Justice on 24 November 2025.
Its best-known ruling on allocation came on 2 February 2012, when it cancelled all 122 2G mobile licences that had been handed out first come, first served in 2008. the Court called that method unconstitutional and arbitrary, and held that a scarce public resource must be allocated by a fair and transparent process, such as an auction.
The principle reaches beyond spectrum. When Brazil's grid operator replaced first-come access at saturated São Paulo connection points with a competitive round on 6 and 7 October 2026, three data-centre projects took all 228 MW on offer.
What is the Supreme Court of India?
Why did India's Supreme Court cancel 2G licences in 2012?
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Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 18 October 2026. Editorial standards.