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Informist, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – The Delhi High Court Tuesday rejected an order by the Central Information Commission directing the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to give information to a person regarding his complaints lodged with his telecom service provider, Vodafone Idea Ltd., under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

 

"TRAI's authority to request information from TSPs (telecom service providers) is confined to fulfilling its regulatory functions under the TRAI Act (1997) and the TCCCPR 2010 (Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations)," said the court. It does not extend to addressing individual grievances or accessing customer-specific information solely for dissemination under the Right to Information framework.

 

While Section 8 of the Right to Information Act allows for the disclosure of exempted information in cases where it is justified by the public interest, such an exception applies only to information that is otherwise permissible for disclosure under the Act, the court said. In the current case, the information sought by Malhotra does not fall within the ambit of what the telecom regulator is obligated to provide under the Right to Information Act.

 

Justice Sanjeev Narula said the Central Information Commission's observation requiring the petitioner, Akshay Kumar Malhotra, to seek redress from the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum was misplaced and beyond its statutory mandate. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is not a service provider or consumer under the Consumer Protection Act, and any grievance against its action or inaction must be pursued before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal as established under the TRAI Act, said Justice Narula. "By making observations and issuing directions unrelated to the scope of the RTI Act, the CIC undermined the legislative framework governing the resolution of telecom disputes," he added.

 

The case has its genesis from Malhotra registering his mobile number under the "fully blocked category" of the National Consumer Registry for the National Do Not Call Registry. Malhotra said that despite requesting activation of the fully blocked do not disturb service, his telecom service provider Vodafone Idea altered the status of his mobile number without his consent.

 

Frustrated by the company's inaction on his complaints, Malhotra sought resources under the Right to Information Act to obtain details about the status of his complaints. Through his right-to-information application to the telecom regulator, Malhotra had sought information on unsolicited voice calls and messages received by him and the complaints he had lodged with Vodafone Idea about them. Malhotra had also sought details from the regulator about the status of his complaints with the company and the status of the do not disturb registration and action taken by the telecom service provider.

 

In its order, the Central Information Commission had said the information sought by Malhotra regarding the status of his complaints with Vodafone Idea regarding unsolicited commercial communications fell within the regulatory powers exercised by the regulator. Nothing prevents the regulator from gathering the information from the service provider and providing it to Malhotra, the commission had said.

 

The commission had further held that under the Right to Information Act, Malhotra, through the regulator, could access the information on the action taken by the service provider on his complaint as available with the service provider. But inaction on the part of the regulator to redress Malhotra's grievance could be agitated only before the appropriate forum, which was the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, the commission had held. Furthermore, it had said information about Malhotra's complaints could be provided by the regulator. Challenging the commission’s order, the regulator moved the high court.

 

On Tuesday, shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd. ended 2.3% higher at INR 8.06 rupees on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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