If Telcos Compensate for Call Drops, They Can't Take It Back: High Court

Advertisement
By Press Trust of India | Updated: 8 January 2016 19:20 IST
Delhi High Court Thursday observed that if telecom operators were compelled to compensate consumers for call drops as per the new Trai regulations, they would not be able to take it back if the rule was set aside in future.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath also said it did not appear that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had considered the objections raised by the cellular operators against the compensatory regulation which mandates them to pay consumers one rupee per call drop experienced on their networks, subject to a cap of Rs. 3 a day.

The bench, however, agreed with Trai that the regulator had the power to make the present regulation, which aimed at compensating consumers for the call drops.

Advertisement

In his response, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) P S Narasimha, appearing for Trai, said a technical consultation paper was sent to all stakeholders, including telecom firms, on the call drops issue and all their representations were considered before the rule was made.

The ASG said the compensatory rule was made due to consumer complaints that call drops were happening more often and added that the call drops amounted to the service providers "breaching" the contract they have with the users.

Advertisement

He also said the rule was formulated in order to ensure that the telcos invested more and to make them fall in line and provide better service to consumers.

Narasimha contended that currently, the telecom firms were not compensating consumers for call drops by taking advantage of Trai's undertaking that it would not take coercive steps against them and said the regulation has to be implemented.

Advertisement

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the telecom majors, contended that under the Quality of Service regulations, which are to be adhered to as part of the licence conditions, two per cent of call drops are exempted.

He questioned how they can be penalised Re. 1, when there was a two percent exemption.

 

Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.

Further reading: Call Drops, India, Telecom, Trai
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Oppo Find X9 Ultra With 200-Megapixel Periscope Camera Launched Globally
  2. Vivo X300 FE Roundup: Expected Price in India, Specifications
  3. Motorola Edge 70 Fusion Review
  4. Poco M8s 5G Debuts Globally With 7,000mAh Battery: See Price, Features
  5. NASA Shuts Down Voyager 1 Instrument to Extend Mission Life in Deep Space
  6. These Vivo Smartphones Will Cost More in India Due to the Latest Price Hike
  7. Vivo Y6t Launched With 6,500mAh Battery, Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 SoC
  1. NASA Shuts Down Voyager 1 Instrument to Extend Mission Life in Deep Space
  2. Oppo Enco Clip 2 With Open-Ear Design, Up to 40 Hours Total Battery Life Launched Alongside Oppo Watch X3 Mini
  3. Vivo Y6t Launched With 6,500mAh Battery, Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 SoC: Price, Specifications
  4. OCBC Partners Lion Global Investors and DigiFT to Launch Tokenised Gold Fund With GOLDX Token
  5. Oppo Pad 5 Pro Launched With 13,380mAh Battery, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC Alongside Oppo Pad Mini: Price, Features
  6. Redmi K90 Max Launched With Dimensity 9500 SoC, 8,550mAh Battery and Active Cooling Fan: Price, Specifications
  7. Oppo Find X9 Ultra Launched With Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC, 200-Megapixel Periscope Camera: Price, Specifications
  8. Oppo Find X9s Pro Launched With 200-Megapixel Cameras, 7,025mAh Battery: Price, Specifications
  9. OnePlus Ace 6 Ultra Geekbench Listing Reveals MediaTek Dimensity 9500 Chip, 16GB RAM
  10. Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ Leaked Renders Hint at Design, Five Colour Options
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2026. All rights reserved.