With the high court deadline for completing a probe into alleged breach of FDI norms by Hutch-Essar nearing, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board is expected to take a decision on the Vodafone-Hutch transaction when it meets on April 23.
Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecom International Ltd, which sold its majority stake in Hutch-Essar to Vodafone, has already made its final submission before the investment regulator.
The Board, which has deferred the matter twice in the past, would have to decide whether the transaction was compliant with FDI norms by April 23.
In case, FIPB approves the proposal on that day, it would give 15 days time to the finance minister for clearing the deal.
The high court had, on March 9, given two months to regulators FIPB to complete investigations into the allegations that foreign holding in the mobile company was higher than the permissible 74 per cent.
However, the Law Ministry is yet to give its opinion to the FIPB, besides no fresh communication has come from RBI.
FIPB is looking into the allegation that 12.26 per cent stake held by minority shareholders like Asim Ghosh and Analjit Singh are actually owned by HTIL as it stood guarantee to the loans taken by them to acquire this stake from Kotak Mahindra.
Asim Ghosh, HTIL and Vodafone had clarified before the FIPB last month, while Analjit Singh's clarification came on last Tuesday.
The Delhi High Court direction came on a PIL filed by an NGO, Telecom Watchdog, which alleged that foreign holding in Hutch Essar was 89 per cent.
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