MOSCOW, February 15 - RAPSI. The Supreme Court of India on Thursday turned down the appeal filed by Russian conglomerate Sistema's Indian unit Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL, MTS India), which sought to overturn last year's court ruling to revoke its permits, writes the Indian newspaper Economic Times.

AFK Sistema declined to comment on the news until it received official notification of the ruling.

Shyam Teleservices Ltd. is one of the 11 mobile service providers whose licenses were revoked in February 2012 following a corruption scandal and is the only CDMA operator to be affected by the ruling. It filed a supervisory appeal shortly after.

SSTL did not take part in the waveband auctions last November because it believed that the starting price was too high, as did the majority of potential bidders.

The next auctions are set for March 11; bids will be accepted until February 22. A source in the company previously told the Prime business news agency that they would consider the bidding terms, but that their decision would also depend on the Supreme Court's ruling.

The next meeting of the supervisory court is also set for March 11. The company's licenses have been extended until that day.

AFK Sistema bought 10% in the Indian Shyam teleprovider in September 2007 and increased its stake to 51% in January 2008 and to 73.7% in June. In 2009 Shyam was renamed Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited. In March 2011, the Russian government bought a 17% stake in SSTL for $600 million. Sistemas interest then decreased to 57%, while the Indian partner retains 24%. SSTL provides services under the MTS brand to over 400 Indian cities.