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Our Bureau

New Delhi , Feb. 4

THE Department of Telecom (DoT) told the telecom tribunal today that Reliance Infocomm had misrepresented facts to avoid payment of access deficit charges (ADC) while routing international long distance calls as local ones.

In a counter affidavit filed with the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), the DoT said that its decision to impose a penalty of Rs 150 crore on Reliance was arrived at after the violation of licence was established. The DoT affidavit comes after Reliance Infocomm challenged its decision to impose the penalty.

DoT, in its affidavit, said that the challenge by the private operator "established the intentions of the petitioners to continue its deceptions for as long as possible. It appears that the petitioner (Reliance) is only interested in delaying the execution of the orders."

The DoT submitted that non-payment of ADC by masquerading traffic affected the financial viability of other service providers and was not in public interest. State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd had also slapped a Rs 180-crore penalty on Reliance Infocomm for the illegal routing. "As the violation of licence conditions was established, there is no reason for DoT to go back on its order which imposed the penalty," said a senior DoT official.

According to DoT, Reliance bypassed the authorised switched routes of the International Long Distance services. On the issue of changing Caller Line Identification (CLI), DoT said that CLI is required for lawful interception of calls by the law enforcement agencies.

Meanwhile, the Communication Minister, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, told a news channel that the Government would not be a silent spectator in Reliance Infocomm case and its licence could be revoked in case the private operator did not pay the penalty. Mr Maran was of the view that it was for the courts to take the final decision in the case.

Reliance had run into rough weather after BSNL blew the whistle on its Home Country Direct (HCD) services, which allowed subscribers to make calls into India at much cheaper rates. In doing so, Reliance avoided payment of ADC on grounds that the nature of HCD service made it different from a normal ISD call.

ADC is used by BSNL to offer subsidised rural telephony. BSNL and Reliance are fighting a separate battle in the High Court.

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