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2014 Supreme(Online)(TDSAT) 56
TELECOM DISPUTES SETTLEMENT AND APPELLATE TRIBUNAL
MR. AFTAB ALAM, CJ, MR. KULDIP SINGH, J
M/s Videocon Telecommunication Ltd. – Appellant
Versus
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited – Respondent
Petition No. 10 of 2013 | Petition No. 11 of 2013 | Petition No. 12 of 2013 | Petition No. 13 of 2013 | Petition No. 14 of 2013 | Petition No. 15 of 2013 | Petition No. 16 of 2013 | Petition No. 344 of 2013 | Petition No. 345 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 Petitioner – SSTL (P.No.137/2013):Mr. Mansoor Ali Shoket, Advocate, Ms.Vibha Dhawan, Advocate
For Respondents:Ms. Maneesha Dhir, Advocate, Mr. K.P.S. Kohli, Advocate, Mr. Prashant Jain, Advocate, Ms. Neha Singh, Advocate
The court held that a binding contract can be established through conduct and communication, even if not formally signed, emphasizing the importance of implied acceptance in contractual agreements.
Headnote:(A) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act - Clause 29.1 of Unified Access Services License - Petitioners challenged demands for Interconnect Usage Charges for emergency calls as exceeding agreements - It was established that such charges were based on internal circulars rather than contracts - The petitioners had previously executed addenda acknowledging revised charges but contested in certain service areas - The court found that acceptance of the addenda was implied through conduct and correspondence. (Paras 1-33)
(B) Contract Law - Formation and acceptance of the contract - A binding contract can exist even without formal signing, based on parties' conduct - Lack of response to revised terms can indicate acceptance of an agreement. (Paras 28-30)
(C) Emergency Services - The necessity of efficient routing of emergency calls through interconnect agreements signifies public interest and cannot be arbitrarily adjusted by the telecommunications provider without contractual agreement. (Paras 26-28)
Facts of the case:
The case revolves around ten petitions from various service areas challenging the demand by the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited for Interconnect Usage Charges related to emergency public utility services. The demands were contested on the grounds of being inconsistent with mutually agreed terms.
Findings of Court:
The court ruled that despite some petitions not formally signing revised agreements, acceptance was found in prior correspondence and conduct, thus binding the petitioners to the new terms.
Issues: The primary issues addressed were whether a valid contract existed despite non-signature and the basis of the charges imposed by BSNL.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held there was sufficient evidence of acceptance of the proposed fees for emergency call services as reflected in the correspondence exchanged between the parties, thus validating BSNL's demand.
Result: Petitions dismissed with no order as to costs.
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
