SC rejects appeal challenging Trai tariff orders, upholds HC decision

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected an appeal challenging the telecommunication tariff orders of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and affirmed the Kerala High Court verdict that such matters should be dealt by telecom tribunal TDSAT.

The Kerala High Court had refused to entertain the plea of Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) against certain provisions of the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) Regulations, 2017 and the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Eighth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff Order, 2017 issued by TRAI.

The high court had said that IBDF should have approached the TDSAT (Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal) to review the tariff orders.

A bench comprising Justices P S Narasimha and Sandeep Mehta dismissed the plea, saying "Tariff orders can be challenged before TDSAT under the regulations."  The challenge to the regulations themselves can later come to this court through a statutory appeal under Section 18 of the TRAI Act, it added.

The IBDF, in its plea, referred to a 2014 judgement of the top court in the BSNL v. TRAI case and said it had curtailed TDSAT's authority to review TRAI regulations, creating ambiguity regarding the jurisdiction.

The bench acknowledged the submission and clarified the IBDF may approach TDSAT for tariff-related disputes and later seek the statutory recourse if necessary.

"We are keeping it open to you. There is some problem occurring for stakeholders, but it can be addressed either by the legislature or by a Constitution bench in light of the BSNL (2014) decision," the bench said.

The plea was filed against the high court's decision and the IBDF sought a constitutional review.

The apex court, however, upheld the high court findings, directing the stakeholders to first utilise TDSAT's dispute resolution mechanism.