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2014 Supreme(Online)(TDSAT) 50
TELECOM DISPUTES SETTLEMENT AND APPELLATE TRIBUNAL
MR. AFTAB ALAM, CJ, MR. KULDIP SINGH, J
M/s Videocon Telecommunication Ltd. (Orissa) – Appellant
Versus
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited – Respondent
Petition No. 10 of 2013 (M.A. No. 17 of 2013)|Petition No. 11 of 2013 (M.A. No. 18 of 2013)|Petition No. 12 of 2013 (M.A. Nos. 19, 406& 407 of 2013)|Petition No. 13 of 2013 (M.A. No. 20 of 2013)|Petition No. 14 of 2013 (M.A. Nos. 21, 408 & 409 of 2013)|Petition No. 15 of 2013 (M.A. No. 22 of 2013)|Petition No. 16 of 2013 (M.A. No. 23 of 2013)|Petition No. 344 of 2013 (With M.A. No. 261 of 2013)|Petition No. 345 of 2013 (With M.A. No. 262 of 2013)|Petition No. 137 of 2013
For the Appellants/Petitioners:Mr. Dayan Krishnan, Sr. Advocate, Mr. Navin Chawla, Advocate, Mr. Kirtiman Singh, Advocate, Mr. Waize Ali Noor, Advocate, Ms. Manvi Priya, Advocate
For the Respondents:Ms. Maneesha Dhir, Advocate, Mr. K.P.S. Kohli, Advocate, Mr. Prashant Jain, Advocate, Ms. Neha Singh, Advocate
The court affirmed that unilateral amendments affecting interconnect agreements cannot override previously agreed terms, while acceptance of contractual conditions can be inferred from parties' conduct and correspondence.
Headnote:(A) Telecommunications Act, 1885 - Unified Access Service Licence - Interconnect Usage Charges (IUC) - Disputes between service providers and BSNL regarding IUC for emergency calls - Petitioners assert demands by BSNL exceed agreed terms and claim unilaterality in such amendments - BSNL's additions to interconnect agreements acknowledged - Petitioners held liable for dues based on acceptance of amendments across various circles. (Paras 9-10)
(B) Contract Formation - Acceptance can occur not merely through formal signatory means but also conduct; previous correspondence indicates acceptance of terms of Amendment II despite lapses. The understanding of the functional implications in practical terms must guide enforcement of these agreements for emergency services. The court emphasizes that both parties need to uphold terms reasonably understood to have been accepted. (Paras 43-44)
(C) The license provisions mandate mutuality and require that no unilateral conclusions be drawn affecting contract integrity. (Paras 11, 12)
Findings of Court:
The modified rates for emergency services were validly applied to the petitioners who had previously executed certain agreements under duress of necessity and public service obligation.
Issues: The critical issues included whether contractual agreements had been formed between BSNL and the petitioners based on the executed amendments, and the permissibility of BSNL imposing charges outside recognized agreements.
Ratio Decidendi: The Tribunal determined that despite some failure to formally sign certain addenda by petitioners, the engagement and previous correspondence reflected a binding agreement under the standards of mutual understanding, thereby compelling compliance with the amended IUC scheduled rates.
Result: All petitions dismissed.
ORDER
By AftabAlam, Chairperson – This batch of ten petitions challenges the demands made on M/s Videocon Telecommunications Limited,
Nine out of the ten petitions comprising the batch are filed by Videocon which relate to different service areas/circles. The remaining one petition (Petition no. 137 of 2013) is filed by Sistema. A tabular summary of the ten petitions is given below for the sake of convenience:
| S.No. | Name of the Petitioner | Petition No. | Circle | Date of Invoice and Period of demand | Total Amount |
| 1 | Videocon | 10 of 2013 | Orissa | 17.10.2012 (24.07.2010 – 31.03.2013) | Rs.32,12,880/- |
| 2 | Videocon | 11 of 2013 | U.P.East | ( (a) 11.09.2012 – (24.07.2010 – 23.07.2011) b) 11/09.2012 – (24.07.2011 – 31.03.2012) Total | R Rs.11,23,600/- s.8,50,989/- |
| Rs.19,74,589/- | |||||
| 3 | Videocon | 12 of 2013 | Maharashtra | ( (a) 18.07.2012 b) 30.08.2012 Total | R Rs.11,23,600/- s.21,70,887/- |
| R s.32,94,487/- | |||||
| 4 | Videocon | 13 of 2013 | Karnataka | ( (a) 24.08.2012 b) 05.09.2012 Total | R Rs.25,76,277/- s.7,63,586/- |
| R s.33,39,863/- | |||||
| 5 | Videocon | 14 of 2013 | Rajasthan | 06.09.2012(24.07.2010 – 31.03.2013) | Rs.32,09,494/- |
| 6 | Videocon | 15 of 2013 | Assam | 07.12.2012 (18.09.2010 – 31.03.2013) | Rs.31,62,130/- |
| 7 | Videocon | 16 of 2013 | Bihar | 13.12.2012 | Rs.23,28,776/- |
| 8 | Videocon | 344 of 2013 | J&K | 08.01.2013(14.07.2010 – 31.03.2013) | Rs.29,65,233/- |
| 9 | Videocon | 345 of 2013 | North East | 17.12.2012(21.07.2010 – 18.01.2013) | Rs.30,29,687/- |
| GRAND TOTAL | Rs.2,65,17,139/- | ||||
| 10 | Sistema Shyam | 137 of 2013 | Delhi | 1 1 0 18.02.2013(25.07.2010 – 24.07.2011) 8.02.2013(25.07.2011 – 24.07.2012) 8.02.2013(25.07.2012 – 31.03.2013) 1.04.2013(01.04.2013 – 31.03.2014) GRAND TOTAL | R R R Rs.11,23,600/- s.12,35,960/- s.8,46,548/- s.13,59,556/- |
| R s.45,65,664/- |
All the petitions arise from similar facts and raise the same questions of law.
Hence, all the petitions were heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment.
During the period to which the demands relate, both Videocon and Sistema had Unified Access Services Licences for all the twenty two (22) service areas/circles in the country. Under the licence, the two petitioners, like all other holders of UAS licence, were mandated to provide for their mobile phone subscribers seam-less access to emergency public utility service, e.g., police, fire, ambulance etc. The relevant provision in this regard is contained in clause 29.1 of the UAS licence which is as under:
“29. Emergency and Public Utility Services:
29.1 The licensee shall provide independently or through mutually agreed commercial arrangements with other Service Providers all public utility services including TOLL FREE services such as police, fire, ambulance, railways/road/air accident enquiry, police control, disaster management etc. While providing emergency services such as police, fire, ambulance etc. it shall be ensured that such calls originated shall be delivered to the control room of the concerned authority for the area from where call is originated.”
(emphasis added)
It needs to be noted here that the countless police stations/control rooms, fire stations, health-care centres, accident enquiry centres and the disaster management centres all over the country are predominantly serviced by fixed lines. We can also take judicial notice of the fact that, for historical reasons, it is BSNL alone that is in position to effectively provide access to the fixed line telephones installed and managed by it at all the emergenc
