New Delhi, Jan 23: The Telecom Dispute Special Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) on Tuesday refused to pass any order on the issue of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recommendations on WLL mobility, which the full Telecom Commission (TC) is expected to accept at a meeting to be held on Wednesday. Refusing to pass any order till the government has actually taken a decision, Justice Sen, who heads the tribunal, said, "We will hear the case on Monday, January 29."The hearing which was attended by the representatives of all leading telecom companies, was full of high voltage drama. Pleading the case on behalf of the cellular operators, top corporate lawyer, Mr Gopal Subramaniam, had asked the court to prevent the government from implementing the recommendations, till they are cleared by the TDSAT.
He requested the tribunal to pass an injunction against any step by the respondent (the government) to implement the Trai recommendations released on January 8, 2001. He said that the reference paper, which asks for the scope of WLL services, is in violation of the section 11 1a of the act. According to him, allowing fixed service Providers (FSPs) to provide WLL mobility, which provides the same service as the cellular operators, is a breach of the licence conditions.
When Justice Sen asked him if there will be an irreparable damage to the cellular operator, if the hearing is held two or three days after the government accepts the recommendations, Mr Subramaniam said if such a decision was taken, it will shake the investor confidence and will cause irreparable damage.
Mr Jaideep Gupta, who was representing the Union Government of India, requested the court to "not allow the cellular operators to interfere even before the Government performs its functions."
Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
