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2014 Supreme(Online)(TDSAT) 71
TELECOM DISPUTES SETTLEMENT AND APPELLATE TRIBUNAL
Aftab Alam, CJ, Kuldip Singh, J
Raftaar Media Pvt. Ltd. – Appellant
Versus
Noida Software Technology Park Ltd. – Respondent
Petition No. 544(C) of 2012
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Mr. Mahipal Singh
For the Respondents: Ms. Ruchira Goel
Contractual obligations can justify service termination when dues remain unpaid, emphasizing the importance of adhering to agreed payment terms.
Headnote:(A) TRAI Act - Definitions of service provider and distributor of TV channels - Legal proceedings following disconnection of uplink facility due to outstanding dues investigated. (Paras 1, 9, 11)
(B) Contract Law - Clause entitling the respondent to discontinue services for non-payment of dues established. (Paras 9, 10)
(C) Evidence tendered by the respondent regarding payment defaults led to validations of claims. (Paras 10)
Facts of the case:
Disconnection of uplink services by the respondent due to alleged non-payment of fees by the petitioner. Respondent asserts that counter-claims based on outstanding dues justified under agreement terms.
Findings of Court:
The evidence demonstrated the petitioner’s failure to remit payments timely and the increase in charges held improper by the tribunal.
Issues: Main issues included whether the disconnection of services was legal and the validity of the respondent's counter-claim.
Ratio Decidendi: The tribunal confirmed that the respondent had a contractual right to discontinue services due to the defaulting nature of payments by the petitioner, affirming the binding nature of contractual terms.
Result: The petition is not allowed; counter-claim of Rs.25,60,006/- granted with interest.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. issue of disconnection due to alleged non-payment. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5) |
| 2. evidence of default on payments and contractual obligations. (Para 6 , 7 , 8 , 9) |
| 3. legal ruling on entitlement to terminate services. (Para 10 , 11) |
ORDER
Kuldip Singh:
The petitioner is a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 and engaged in the business of broadcasting its news channel ‘Raftaar News’ through various distributor platforms. The respondent is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956. It was providing up-linking facility and transponder services to the petitioner from its gateway at Greater Noida.
2. The petitioner is aggrieved by the disconnection of its uplink facility by the respondent, which as per it is without any legal/justifiable case, and claims damages on account of the same. The respondent, in turn, has made a counter-claim from the petitioner for outstanding dues of Rs.27,97,318/- along with interest @ 18% per month. As per the respondent, this outstanding is on account of default on the part of the petitioner in making payment of monthly subscription fees.
3. The broadcasters of television signals generally uplink their TV channels to some satellite, such as INSAT, using an earth station, also called a gateway. The satellite in turn broadcasts the signals back towards the earth. These signals can be received by various distributors such as MSOs, DTH operators, HITS operators, etc., with the help of suitable equipment and IRDs (Integrated Receiver and Decoder) provided by the broadcasters. Some broadcasters who do not use/have their own uplink facilities may hire such facilities called ‘Teleport’ from other service providers, such as, the respondent in the present case.
4. The parties, herein, entered into an agreement on 07.08.2008, as per which the respondent was to provide the uplink facility as well as transponder service on ‘INSAT-4A’ satellite to the petitioner for a period of three years. As per amendment dated 18.08.2009 (Appendix ‘A-payment schedule’), the charges for the service provided by the respondent were Rs.4,80,000/- per month, including service tax and WPC fees. These were payable monthly in advance.
5. It is the case of the petitioner that respondent, unilaterally and without any justifiable cause, and without taking the consent of the 69 and 70 of the paperbook). petitioner, increased the monthly subscription charges from Rs.4,80,000/- to Rs.5,39,328/- from the month of April, 2012. On protest by the petitioner to rectify the invoices, the respondent started harassing the petitioner and switched of the sound of the news channel of the petitioner on several occasions and also disconnected its channel on one such occasion. The respondent sent a legal notice dated 05.07.2012 to the petitioner calling upon the petitioner to clear the outstanding amount of Rs.27,97,318/- and threatening it with disconnection of its services and termination of its agreement. The signals of the petitioner were disconnected on 03.08.2012 and on the failure of the respondent to reconnect the same, despite request made by the petitioner, the present petition was filed praying inter-alia to direct the respondent to pay a sum of Rs.25 lakhs towards damages suffered by it on account of illegal disconnection of its signals.
6. Issues were framed by the Tribunal vide its order dated 17.10.2012.
7. Ms. Ruchira Goel, learned counsel for the respondent, submitted that the petitioner had been defaulting in making regular monthly payments since March, 2010 for which the respondent had been reminding it from time to time. She drew our attention to letter dated 14.9.2011 written by the respondent to the petitioner reminding him about the outstanding amount of Rs.16,55,000/- as on that date (page 68 of the paperbook) Further reminders were written on October 14, 2011 and January 10, 2012 (page terminate the services.
8. The respondent adduced evidence by way of affidavit of Mr. Rajeev Singh Rawat, Senior Execu
