Telecom dept seeks AG opinion on power to impose fine

The department of telecommunications (DoT) has sought the opinion of the attorney-general whether it can impose a penalty on mobile operators for violating licence conditions.

According to sources, the DoT move follows a Tripura High Court order in January that questioned its power to unilaterally impose a penalty under clause 10(2) (ii) of the licence agreement.

POWER PANGS

• Tripura High Court order in January that questioned its power to unilaterally impose a penalty under clause 10(2) (ii) of the licence agreement
• DoT needed to decide on recommendations of Trai on imposing a fine of Rs 3,050 crore against Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular
• These operators failed to meet licence conditions relating to providing interconnect points to Reliance Jio

Sources said the DoT needed to decide on recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on imposing a fine of Rs 3,050 crore against Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular for failing to meet licence conditions relating to providing interconnect points to Reliance Jio.  

The high court had ruled “there cannot be any space but to hold that clause 10(2) (ii) is opposed to the public policy, ultra vires and against the statutory provisions as stated”.

DoT has appealed against the order to a division bench of the Tripura High Court. The department has completed its submission on the matter. The next hearing is likely by the end of November. Sources said after the attorney-general’s clarification DoT would decide on the penalty proposed by Trai. Since the high court order in January, the DoT has not levied any penalty on mobile operators for violating licence conditions.

In letters to the telecom secretary Trai had last month recommended a penalty of Rs 50 crore per circle for 21 service areas, except Jammu and Kashmir, on Airtel and Vodafone where the point of interconnect congestion exceeded the allowable limit of 0.5 per cent. For Idea Cellular, the penalty was suggested for 19 circles, except Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast. The penalty amount for Airtel and Vodafone works out to Rs 1,050 crore each and for Idea Rs 950 crore.