Govt. not to take coercive action for call drops till January 6

The Government told the Delhi High Court on Tuesday that it will not take punitive action against telecom majors for call drops till January 6, 2016.

Additional Solicitor General P.S. Narsimha, who was representing the government and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in a case moved by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), gave this assurance.

Earlier, the COAI had petitioned the court, asking it to rule against telecom consumer regulations that said that for every call drop, the service providers would pay Rs.1 for up to three call drops each day. These norms were to come into effect from January 1.

A two-judge bench of the high court, comprising of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath noted Additional Solicitor General P.S. Narsimha's assurance.

Lawyer Harish Salve, representing the telecom lobby, told the court the regulation could lead to a loss of at least Rs.1,000-1,500 crore every year. Salve said the penalty was excessive and arbitrary.

Narsimha told the court that the regulations were not a unilateral decision of the executive, but the decision of a technical body.

Another consumer body present in the court said the legislation was beneficial to consumers, and sought to be made party to the case.