Zee Media Bureau


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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred hearing till tomorrow on plea of Telecom companies challenging the High court order over compensation for call drops.


Telecom companies had challenged a Delhi High Court order upholding TRAI’s decision making it mandatory for them to compensate subscribers for call drops from January 1, 2016.


The High Court had, in February, upheld the October 16, 2016, decision of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) making it mandatory for cellular operators to pay consumers one rupee per call drop experienced on their networks, subject to a cap of Rs. 3 a day


The court order came while dismissing a batch of petitions filed by the Cellular Operators’ Association of India, a body of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India and 21 telecom operators, including Vodafone, Bharti Airtel and Reliance.


The High Court had said it had not stayed TRAI’s notification since filing of the writ petition, therefore the telecom regulator was at liberty to implement its decision from January 1, 2016, onwards.


The court had said the regulation was made by TRAI “keeping in mind the paramount interest of the consumer”.


The telecom operators had moved the High Court seeking quashing of TRAI’s regulation contending that it was a “knee-jerk reaction” which penalised them without proving any wrong-doing.


With PTI Inputs