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Call drops: Not just fine, TRAI now seeks to imprison violators

TRAI imprison violaters call drops

In a bid to send a firm message to telcos to check call drops, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) now plans a penalty of up to ₹10 crore on mobile operators and a jail term of up to two years for their executives for any violation of the regulatory framework.
     

This follows a Supreme Court judgment quashing the TRAI order that asked telecom operators to compensate subscribers for call drops.
     

The regulator has suggested to the Department of Telecom amendments in various provisions in the TRAI Act, 1997, with a view to be an "effective sector regulator".
    

"...if a service provider violates any direction, order or regulations made under this Act or terms and condition of licence, service provider to be liable for penalty which may extend to 10 crore rupees," Trai said in its communication to the Department of Telecom (DoT).
     

TRAI had put in place a new set of rules mandating telecom operators to pay ₹ 1 for each dropped call, subject to maximum ₹ 3 per day, but the order was quashed by the apex court after companies appealed against it.
    

The regulator said that after a detailed examination of the judgment it has concluded the need for seeking greater clarity in protecting the interest of consumers, grievance redressal and enforcement of its regulations and orders.
    

"In order to be an effective sector regulator Trai needs to be statutorily empowered to enforce its direction, orders, regulations as well as terms and conditions of licence issued to service providers through imposition of penalties for contravention of such regulations directions etc," Trai said.
    

The regulator has proposed an amendment to Section 29 of the TRAI Act 1997 which is about penalty for contravention of its direction and also sought introduction of three new sub-sections 29 A, 29 B and 29 C.
    

TRAI wants the amended section 29 to have provision for imprisonment and fine both for violators.
    

"Section 29 may be substituted with... If a person violates direction of the authority, such personnel shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may be extended to two years and shall be liable to fine which may be extended to ₹ 15 lakh," the TRAI said.
    

In case the violation continues, there should be a provision for additional fines that can be extended to ₹ 15 lakh every day as long as the default continues, it said.
    

At present, TRAI can impose a fine of up to ₹2 lakh for a violation and in case the default continues, a penalty of ₹ 2 lakh can be imposed as long as the breach continues.
    

At present, disputes between consumers and telecom operators are not taken up by consumer courts as a Supreme Court judgment of 2009 had barred seeking any such relief under the Consumer Protection Act, saying a special remedy is provided under the Indian Telegraph Act.

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