Atul Malhotra to be Sanjay Chandra's interim replacement

After telecom joint venture partner Telenor asked Sanjay Chandra to step down as chairman of Unitech Wireless in the wake of his name appearing in the CBI charge sheet in the 2G spectrum scam, CNBC-TV18's Nayantara Rai reports that Atul Malhotra will be Chandra's interim replacement.

Malhotra is learnt to be involved in Unitech's legal department. Sources have also indicated that the company may have decided on replacement nominee prior to the board meet. The company's board will meet on Tuesday to discuss the 2G scam and rights issue. The two JV partners for over a month have been struggling over a proposed rights issue. Unitech has claimed that the Norwegian company had unilaterally passed a resolution for a rights issue and had managed to get a stay against the issue at the Gurgaon Court. Sources say that Telenor is still keen on the issue. The next hearing for the issue is scheduled for May 14. Unitech had said that Chandra has not resigned but had already requested the Uninor board to appoint an alternate director in his place to handle company affairs in the near term. "We will continue to monitor the situation closely and review our decision should the need arise," Unitech said in a statement. The company also said it continued to believe in Chandra's innocence and believed his name will be cleared of all charges in due course. Did you miss: Telenor Vs Unitech: Is the joint venture crumbling?