Telecom companies will not compensate mobile phone users for inconvenience caused by call drops, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday, quashing the penalty rule framed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). A bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and RF Nariman termed Trai’s rule “arbitrary, illegal and unreasonable” and said no proper deliberation had gone into its framing. It said telecom companies cannot be punished by Trai in the name of protecting consumer interests, and dismissed the conclusion that the firms alone were to blame for call drops and were thus deficient in service.
Trai had framed the rule in October last year. As per the rule, telcos (call originating service provider) were to pay consumers Re 1 for every call drop with the penalty capped at Rs 3 per day. It was to come into force from Jan 1, 2016 for 6 months on a trial basis.
- TRAI was established on February 20, 1997 by an Act of Parliament to regulate telecom services and tariffs in India. Earlier regulation of telecom services and tariffs was overseen by the Central Government.
- TRAI’s mission is to create and nurture conditions for growth of telecommunications in India to enable the country to have a leading role in the emerging global information society.
- One of its main objectives is to provide a fair and transparent environment that promotes a level playing field and facilitates fair competition in the market. TRAI regularly issues orders and directions on various subjects such as tariffs, interconnections, quality of service, Direct To Home (DTH) services and mobile number portability.
