New Trai chief recuses himself from appeals against his TDSAT judgments

Allaying fears of a conflict between the judgments he pronounced as member of the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) and his role as chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), J S Sarma said he had told the authority's members that he would recuse himself from such decisions.

The current policy allows telecom operators to appeal to the TDSAT against decisions of Trai and the government, as a result of which there are many instances of conflict between the two sides.

Sarma took charge after former Trai chairman Nripendra Mishra retired on March 22. Sarma has had a long relationship with the telecom sector as secretary, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), and then chairman, Telecom Commission.

Elaborating on his agenda Sarma said, “I would first like to ensure good quality of service for consumers and try and minimise disputes in this sector.” He also said he wanted to “ensure that the country is ready for new generation technologies and build investor confidence in this sector”.

Also clearing the air on the public disputes between the DoT and Trai on key policy issues, Sarma said, “There is no reason for a conflict. I will not comment on the past, but our spheres of activity are clearly drawn.”

Sarma was a surprise candidate for the Trai chairman’s post. His name did not figure in the shortlist of four candidates out of 26, which included Arun Ramanathan, finance secretary, Yashwant Bhave, consumer affairs secretary, K Sridhara, member, Telecom Commission and S D Saxena, former director (finance), BSNL.