Delhi HC dismisses Vodafone Idea’s plea against Rs 2,000 crore penalty
As per the reports, a division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad reserved its order on the matter for April 24 after hearing the parties.
NEW DELHI: Telecom service provider Vodafone Idea (Vi) might have to pay a penalty of Rs 2,000 crore for denying points of interconnect to Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIO) as the Delhi high court on Wednesday dismissed its appeal against a recommendation by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
As per the reports, a division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad reserved its order on the matter for April 24 after hearing the parties. TRAI recommended a penalty of Rs 50 crore for each of the country’s 21 circles (excluding Jammu & Kashmir) to be imposed on Bharti Airtel and Vi. TRAI had said that the telcos violated licensing norms by denying adequate points of interconnect to Reliance Jio.
The penalty amounted to Rs 1,050 crore for each operator. Additionally, the regulator recommended a penalty of Rs 950 crore on Idea for 19 circles. Vodafone and Idea later merged to form Vodafone Idea in 2018. Challenging the penalty, Vodafone filed a petition in the high court alleging a violation of natural justice. Vi argued TRAI had not granted them an opportunity to defend their actions as the show-cause notice didn’t indicate the possibility of a penalty recommendation.
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