Justice Hegde to quit TDSAT

Justice Santosh Hegde, chairman of Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Authority (TDSAT), has decided to resign from the post.

Hegde would shortly take charge as Lokayukta of Karnataka. When contacted, Hegde, who was in Bangalore, confirmed the decision to quit TDSAT. "I shall be tendering my resignation on Friday," he said.

Hegde, a former Supreme Court judge, was appointed chairman of the telecom and broadcast tribunal on June 27, 2005.

In his chequered career spanning more than four decades, Hegde served as Advocate General of Karnataka and Solicitor General of India before being elevated to the Supreme Court as a judge in 1999.

During his tenure, he delivered many landmark judgements including the one last week when he held that the tribunal was the final authority to decide disputes between Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and telecom operators.