Bharti Airtel Ltd. vs Telecom Regulatory Authority of India & Anr.

Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2018 Supreme(Online)(TDSAT) 1

TELECOM DISPUTES SETTLEMENT AND APPELLATE TRIBUNAL
Shiva Kirti Singh, CJ, Mr. Bipin Bihari Srivastava, J, Mr. A.K. Bhargava, J
Bharti Airtel Ltd. – Appellant
Versus
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India & Anr. – Respondent

Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners:Mr. Gopal Jain, Sr. Advocate, Mr. Harsh Kaushik, Advocate, Mr. Abhay Chattopadhyay, Advocate, Ms. Kriti Awasthi, Advocate
For the Respondents:Mr. Tushar Mehta, ASG, Mr. Kirtiman Singh, Advocate, Mr. Prateek Dhanda, Advocate, Mr. Waize Ali Noor, Advocate, Mr. Momin Khan, Advocate, Mr. C.S. Vaidyanathan, Sr. Advocate, Mr. Ramji Srinivasan, Sr. Advocate, Mr. K.R. Sasiprabhu, Advocate, Mr. Rittin Rai, Advocate, Mr. Biju P. Raman, Advocate, Mr. Jayank Malik, Advocate, Mr. Abhas Kshetarpal, Advocate, Mr. Srijan Sinha, Advocate, Ms. Kritika Bhardwaj, Advocate, Mr. Hiten Sampat, Advocate, Ms. Shailey Saluja, Advocate, Mr. Vishnu Sharma, Advocate

Table of Content
1. overview of appeals against trai decisions. (Para 1 , 2 , 3)
2. importance of tariffs in the telecom sector. (Para 4 , 5 , 6)
3. respondents' arguments against maintainability of appeals. (Para 10 , 12 , 24)
4. validity of promotional offers and regulatory compliance. (Para 15 , 18 , 27)
5. guidelines needed for predatory pricing assessments. (Para 30 , 31)
6. conclusions and directives to trai. (Para 32)

ORDER

By S.K. Singh, Chairperson –

Before proceeding to notice the relevant facts, it will be useful to note that Telecom Appeal Nos.1 of 2016 and 2 of 2017 have been preferred by the Appellants against decision of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) (respondent no.1) communicated vide letter dated 20.10.2016, finding no merit in their objections/representations against the

“Welcome Offer” launched by Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (respondent no.2) with effect from 5.9.2016 when it begin its commercial services as a new entrant in the field of Telecom Services. The other two Appeals are against similar decision of TRAI communicated vide letter dated 31.1.2017 whereby Appellants ’ objections to another offer by respondent no.2 under the name “Happy New Year

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2018 Supreme(Online)(TDSAT) 1

TELECOM DISPUTES SETTLEMENT AND APPELLATE TRIBUNALShiva Kirti Singh, CJ, Mr. Bipin Bihari Srivastava, J, Mr. A.K. Bhargava, JBharti Airtel Ltd. – AppellantVersusTelecom Regulatory Authority of India & Anr. – Respondent

TELECOM DISPUTES SETTLEMENT AND APPELLATE TRIBUNAL
Shiva Kirti Singh, CJ, Mr. Bipin Bihari Srivastava, J, Mr. A.K. Bhargava, J
Bharti Airtel Ltd. – Appellant
Versus
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India & Anr. – Respondent