In a move which may result in delay of talks between BSNL and Huawei for the GSM network roll-out for the Southern zone of the country, the Andhra Pradesh High Court asked BSNL to maintain status quo in its tendering process till June3 when the next date for hearing comes up.

The HC was responding to a petition filed by Nokia Siemens Networks challenging its disqualification on technical grounds by BSNL.

NSN has similarly filed a petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court which have already asked BSNL to submit its reply to the allegations.

BSNL’s tender process has come under scanner particularly after it emerged that Huawei has bagged rights for the Southern Zone. Nokia Siemens found it hard to believe that its products failed to meet the technical criteria since it had earlier qualified for BSNL’s GSM tender floated only a couple of years back.

AP HC’s hearing will bear a strong impact on Huawei’s prospects in the mega GSM tender since an adverse ruling may result in loss of contract to the firm which is facing heat from another corner consisting of security agencies that apprehend the products of the company to have spyware.