The Hindu Business Line : Amending Bill proposes adjudicating officer — Telecom licence violations may attract Rs 50-cr penalty

THE Ministry of Communications has proposed the setting up of an office of the Adjudicating Officer to finalise the penalty for licence violation by telecom operators.

In a proposal to amend the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885, the Ministry has said the Adjudicating Officer will be given the powers of a civil court and would endeavour to resolve disputes within 90 days of a complaint. The Adjudicating Officer will be allowed to impose a penalty not exceeding Rs 50 crore if a violation is proved.

The Bill amending the 1885 Act will be taken to the Cabinet before being tabled in Parliament.

It primarily aims at increasing the amount of financial liabilities for violation of licence conditions as mentioned in the 1885 Act, which may have lost its relevance now. For instance, a fine of Rs 1,000 in the 1885 Act is to be increased to Rs 2 crore.

"The rationalisation of amount of financial penalties in the Indian Telegraph Act is essential since these were prescribed in 1885,1914 and 1917. With the passage of time, these amounts have become irrelevant and therefore, it is essential to rationalise the amount of financial penalties so as to act as a deterrent," the Bill says.

The Adjudicating Officer will be appointed by the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT).

The move is likely to dilute the powers of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, which recently filed an appeal before the apex court seeking more powers to adjudicate disputes between operators.

To make the norms stricter, the Department of Telecom is formulating another policy to curb illegal use of mobile operators network. A penalty of Rs 50 crore would be imposed on every mobile operator whose network is being used for illegal routing of calls. As per the policy being finalised, the DoT will have the option to cancel the licence if any operator was found to be defaulting more than 10 times.

The DoT will also impose additional performance bank guarantee if any operator was found to be violating the routing plan for more than three times. The operators will also be held responsible for offences committed by any of their subscribers.

The DoT move comes after a number of cellular operators including Bharti Cellular and Idea Cellular's subscribers were found to be indulging in grey market activities.

"The policy is aimed at creating up a standard procedure for dealing the cases of access providers who have been found violating the licence conditions, especially in case where the subscriber was found indulging in illegal activities," said a DoT official.

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