# Cellular Operators Association of India and Others vs. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and Others

> SC judgment dated 2016-05-11. Citation: TCN-2016-SC-00001. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued the Telecom Consumers Protection (Ninth…

- **Court:** SC
- **Order date:** 11 May 2016
- **Citation:** TCN-2016-SC-00001
- **Category:** IBC
- **Source page:** https://caseease.in/cases/ibc/supreme-court-of-india/cellular-operators-association-of-india-and-others-vs-telecom-regulatory-authori-qasjxnxb

## Summary

### Background

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued the Telecom Consumers Protection (Ninth Amendment) Regulations, 2015 (referred to as the “Impugned Regulation”) on October 16, 2015, to take effect from January 1, 2016. These regulations mandated cellular mobile telephone service providers to credit calling consumers with one rupee for each call drop (up to a maximum of three call drops per day) occurring within their network. This amendment was made under Sections 36 and 11 of the TRAI Act, 1997, purportedly to ensure quality of service. Prior to this, TRAI had already established Quality of Service Regulations (e.g., 2009, 2012, 2014) which set a benchmark for a 2% call drop rate and imposed financial disincentives for non-compliance, with these disincentives

…

## Facts

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) notified the Telecom Consumers Protection (Ninth Amendment) Regulations, 2015 ('Impugned Regulation') on October 16, 2015, to be effective from January 1, 2016.

The Impugned Regulation mandates cellular mobile telephone service providers to credit calling consumers with one rupee for each call drop (up to a maximum of three per day) occurring within their network.

The service provider must provide details of the credited amount within four hours via SMS/USSD, or in the next bill for post-paid consumers.

This amendment was made under the purported exercise of powers conferred by Section 36 read with Section 11 of the TRAI Act, 1997.

…

## Issues and analysis

### Issue 1: Whether the Telecom Consumers Protection (Ninth Amendment) Regulations, 2015 (Impugned Regulation) …

**Ratio:** Regulations made by TRAI under Section 36(1) must be consistent with the letter and

…

**Reasoning:** The Supreme Court, referring to BSNL v. TRAI (2014), acknowledged TRAI's wide power to

…

**Interpretation:** The term 'consistent with this Act' in Section 36(1) requires regulations to

…

**Application:** Since the Impugned Regulation imposed a penalty based on an unfounded premise

…

## Parties

- **Judges:** ROHINTON FALI…; Kurian J…
- **Appellants:** Cellular Operators…
- **Respondents:** Telecom Regulatory…
- **Other parties:** JerzLE2XSCWtLxViMw…
- **Advocates:** Kapil S…; Abhishek Manu…; +2 more

## Timeline

- **1885-00-00 — Enactment of Indian…**: The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, an Act of ancient vintage, was enacted, making the…
- **1994-00-00 — National Telec…**: The National Telecom Policy, 1994, was formulated, focusing on universal service,…

## Legal provisions

- [Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, Section 36 — Liquidation estate](https://caseease.in/legal-provisions/insolvency-and-bankruptcy-code-2016/section-36)

---

This is a preview. The full structured summary, issues, precedents and source judgment are available on CaseEase - Legal Intelligence Simplified: https://caseease.in/cases/ibc/supreme-court-of-india/cellular-operators-association-of-india-and-others-vs-telecom-regulatory-authori-qasjxnxb