Rs 150-cr DoT fine on Reliance stayed

The Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) today issued a temporary stay on the enforcement of the Department of Telecommunication's (DoT) Rs 150 crore penalty on Reliance Infocomm.

The tribunal, which heard the case today, passed no orders and fixed February 8 as the next date of hearing. It also directed that there would be no recovery of the stipulated fine until the next hearing. TDSAT has also directed DoT to file a reply within the next 10 days.

DoT had imposed the penalty on December 23, 2004 after both BSNL and MTNL charged Reliance Infocomm of illegally routing international calls terminating on the public service providers network as local calls to avoid the payment of access deficit charge (ADC).

Harish Salve, who appeared for Reliance Infocomm, told reporters that the tribunal had issued a stay.

According to him, the penalty could not be imposed as no proof had been submitted and neither was there a third-party investigation if the private service-provider had breached the terms and condition of its license.

When contacted, Reliance executives refused to comment on the issue. "We have nothing to say on this," said a spokesperson.

Earlier, on January 14, Reliance Infocomm has sent a 10-page reply to the DoT requesting that the government reconsider the Rs 150-crore penalty.

As DoT had turned down the request, Reliance Infocomm had moved the tribunal seeking a stay.

In the January 14 letter, Reliance had said the DoT's action was "misconceived", and that the ministry had imposed the penalty "with a pre-determined mind without taking into consideration the provisions of the license".

Besides, the letter also states that despite repeated requests, DoT had not provided any proof of the alleged violations.