New Delhi: GSM industry body COAI will approach sectoral regulator TRAI to keep the order on call drop compensation in abeyance till March 10, when the Supreme Court will hear the matter. Supreme Court on Friday declined any interim relief to telecom companies against the Delhi High Court's order upholding Trai's decision making it mandatory for them to compensate subscribers for call drops from January 1, 2016.
"It's a question of interim order. We will hear it on Thursday (March 10). As of now, no interim order," a bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and Rohinton Fali Nariman said. "COAI will approach Trai to request that implementation by the industry be kept in abeyance until the Supreme Court hears and decides on the matter until March 10, 2016," COAI said in a statement.
The statement added the Indian mobile telephony services industry, represented by COAI, appreciates Supreme Court's decision to hear the petition challenging the regulation issued by Trai on October 16, 2015 and against the ruling of the High Court of Delhi on the regulation.
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. The telcos had termed the regulation as "arbitrary and whimsical" contending that providing compensation to consumers amounted to interfering with companies' tariff structure which could be done only by order, not regulation.
