An Indian legal body has given Unitech Wireless – Telenor’s local partner in its Indian network Uninor – a deadline of 19 March (next Monday) to decide whether it wants to buy-out the Norwegian firm or exit the JV altogether.

Dow Jones Newswires, which cites two people familiar with the development, says India’s Company Law Board (CLB) has given the direction to Unitech as a measure to resolve the dispute between the two partners following the cancellation of Uninor’s 22 regional licences last month.

Like all the 122 firms that have had their licences cancelled following the Supreme Court ruling, Uninor has just three months left before it must wind up operations.
 
Telenor has stated its intention with the CLB to create a new entity for its Indian interests that will bid in new licence auctions mandated by the court ruling, though Unitech has also filed an appeal seeking to prevent Telenor from taking control of its interests in Uninor.

"Given that Uninor's licenses have a limited validity of only three more months, we hope there will be no further delays and a clear position will be stated on Monday," said Telenor, which said it is awaiting Unitech's response to the CLB's directions.

Telenor is currently seeking compensation from Unitech following the cancelation of its Indian licences, noting that the controversial licences were acquired by Unitech before Telenor became involved, and that their validity was a “fundamental term” of the agreement between the companies.

Unitech disputes Telenor’s grounds for compensation and also claims that their existing contract includes a “non-compete” clause, which Telenor would breach with its current plan to set up a new company.

Telenor entered India by acquiring a 67.3 percent stake in Unitech Wireless from real-estate developer Unitech in 2008 for about INR61 billion (US$1.25 billion).