Telenor ASA (TEL.OS) will continue operating its Indian joint venture, Unitech Wireless Ltd., and fight to "protect our lawful investments," the Norwegian telecom company said Friday, responding to a court order to cancel the licenses of Unitech Wireless and several other companies.

"We are looking to the government to arrive at a fair solution," Telenor said in a statement.

India's Supreme Court Thursday ordered cancellation of 122 telecom licenses, including 22 of Unitech Wireless, saying the process followed to allocate the licenses and bandwidth was an "arbitrary and unconstitutional exercise," which facilitated corruption. The order will be effective after four months.

Telenor is the second largest foreign investor in the country's telecom sector, after U.K.'s Vodafone Group PLC.

Oslo-based Telenor ventured into India by acquiring a 67.3% stake for INR60.0 billion in Unitech Wireless, which was founded by local real-estate company Unitech Ltd. (507878.BY). The venture had 36.30 million users at the end of December and provides services under the Uninor brand.

Telenor said the Norwegian government, which owns 53.97% of the telecom company, is monitoring the developments post the judgment and will help "find solutions to secure Telenor's investments and presence in India."

-By R.Jai Krishna, Dow Jones Newswires, +91.11.4356.3333; krishna.jai@dowjones.com

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