HC refuses to interfere with TRAI recommendation imposing penalty on Vodafone, says TDSAT competent to deal

New Delhi, May 26 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has refused to interfere with TRAI's recommendation for imposing a penalty of Rs 1,050 crore on two Vodafone companies for allegedly denying inter-connectivity to Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) under an Interconnection Agreement executed between them.

The high court noted that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) October 21, 2016 recommendation, which has been challenged here is also under challenge before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), and tribunals are expert bodies constituted under statute to decide the disputes arising under that statute.

A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad, in its May 24 judgment, said the TDSAT has been empowered to deal with all disputes arising under the TRAI Act.