The Supreme Court has refused to grant telecom operators interim relief against the Delhi High Court’s decision to uphold TRAI’s call drop compensation scheme. The verdict is a major blow to the players case, though it still have a chance to overthrow the order by the end of the proceedings.
A bench consisting of Justices Kurian Joseph and Rohinton Fali Nariman declared that there were no grounds for an interim stay as they did not find anything wrong with the Delhi High Court’s decree on call drops. According to them, if the blame for the problem lies with network companies then it has to pay for causing it.
As per PTI, the Supreme Court has set the next date of hearing for March 10. It’s also issued a notice to TRAI and the central government to file a response to the appeals by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI), and 21 players consisting of brands like Vodafone, Reliance and Airtel.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi seems to be fairly confident of the government’s chances. During the brief hearing, he pointed out that TRAI’s case won out in the High Court because the regulation was in the interest of consumers. It remains to be seen which way the Supreme Court will swing and hopefully put an end to the uncertainty over call drop compensation.
Also See: Delhi HC upholds TRAI call drop compensation scheme
To recap, TRAI’s scheme compels telecom firms to pay Rs 1 as a fine for up to 3 call drops a day. The body is free to reinforce this system anytime it chooses now that interim relief has not been granted.